Houghton County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Houghton County: 0.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jun 17, 2018Flash Flood$100 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three to nearly seven inches of rainfall in the early morning hours of the 17th caused widespread and catastrophic flash flooding across much of Houghton County from Chassell through Houghton/Hancock to Dollar Bay, Hubbell and Lake Linden. The NOAA Precipitation Frequency Atlas indicated a 1000-year recurrence interval for rainfall amounts of the magnitude which occurred during this event. The Houghton County emergency manager reported that nearly all roads were impassable in central and southern Houghton County. Many homes and businesses were flooded throughout the area, particularly in Houghton/Hancock where one fatality occurred when a basement collapsed at a home on Canal…

2. Apr 12, 2023Flood$18.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A flash flood impacted the Lake Linden, MI area early on April 12th after a culvert under railroad tracks failed and released a flood wave resulting in an estimated $150,000 in|damages. The flooding prompted a state of emergency declaration for Houghton County by Governor Whitmer. The culvert was recently installed as part of repairs following the Father���s Day flooding in 2018. There was also prolonged snowmelt flooding along the Sturgeon River which lasted through the 24th.

3. Jul 23, 2025Flash Flood$5.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding resulted in several washouts in the Chassell area, including Massie Road, Chassell-Painesdale Road, and Bootjack Road. Some of these areas experienced flooding in the recent past, including June 2025. Floodwaters impacted a few residences on Lakeshore Drive as well. US-41 had one foot of flowing water over the roadway near Chassell, resulting in a closure of one lane.

4. Apr 28, 2013Flood$2.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rapid melting of significant late season snow pack caused moderate flooding of roads across portions of Houghton County, especially along the Sturgeon River from Alston to Chassell, from the 28th into the 30th. Minor flooding continued into early May. Some flooding of basements was also reported. Governor Rick Snyder declared a state of disaster in Houghton County where nearly 2.9 million dollars in property damage occurred due to the flooding mainly to roadway infrastructure.

5. Jul 21, 2018Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three to four inches of rain in approximately six hours caused another episode of flooding in Houghton and surrounding areas within the span of month. The Houghton County Sheriff reported several roads washed out in the Houghton/Hancock area. This second flood episode during the recovery period of the more severe Father's Day flood event prompted Governor Rick Snyder to declare a second state of disaster for Houghton County.

6. May 4, 2023Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy water equivalent precipitation of 2 to nearly 4 inches during the late-season snowstorm of May 1-2 caused minor snowmelt flooding of rivers and small streams over portions of northern Houghton County through the 12th. The most extensive flooding impacts were along the Sturgeon River basin.

7. Jun 21, 2025Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Emergency Management, Law Enforcement, Broadcast Media, State Department of Transportation, and the Public reported flash flooding on the morning of the 21st. In Chassell, 4,000 yards of material on Massie Rd was washed out and Sadjak Rd was closed due to water over the road. In Houghton, standing water was observed on many roads, at least 2 road washouts occurred, and surface damage including sidewalk damage was observed at Agate St and MacInnes Dr. The City Council approved $150,000 for repairs. In Hubbell, debris was deposited on roads. In Calumet, sewer systems were overwhelmed and backing up into residences. Damage as also observed in Silver Creek.

8. May 9, 2022Wildfire, Southern Houghton$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The USFS reported to dispatch that the Estes Lake Wildfire had burned nearly 16 acres northwest of Sidnaw. Three structures were destroyed in the fire, one camp and two outbuildings and one vehicle was also destroyed.

9. Jul 21, 2016Thunderstorm Wind$80,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The NWS storm survey confirmed extensive tree damage at Emily Lake Campground with over half an acre of trees blown down due to straight line winds estimated to be up to 90 mph. Local reports indicated that the strong winds lasted at least five minutes. Damage included trees down on two campers and one vehicle, but no injuries were reported. The time of the report was estimated from radar.

10. Dec 16, 2021High Wind, Northern Houghton$60,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Extensive tree and power line damages was reported throughout northern Houghton on the morning of the 16th with numerous reports of trees blocking roads and a few reports of trees down on unoccupied cars. There was a report of a tree down on a house on Pine Street in Lake Linden. Houghton-Keweenaw Schools were closed on the 16th, and Houghton and Keweenaw counties combined reported more than 2000 customers without power from the storm.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

102°FJul 7, 1988

All-time low

−30°F2 times, most recently Feb 9, 1951

Warmest night

77°F2 times, most recently Jul 13, 2026

Coldest day

−16°FFeb 2, 1996

Wettest day

5.96 inJun 17, 2018

Snowiest day

26.5 inJan 18, 1996

Hottest year

2024mean 46.2°F

Coldest year

1950mean 36.2°F

Wettest year

195144.56 in

Driest year

201116.89 in

Station Hancock Houghton County Airport (USW00014858), 1,063 ft elevation, 3.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 99.2% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00014858.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.