Kalkaska County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Kalkaska County: 1.
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.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

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.

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

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Oct 18, 2007Tornado$1.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Kalkaska tornado was the first killer tornado in Northern Lower Michigan in over 30 years. It touched down just south of Crofton, and tracked north-northeast, lifting just after crossing the Kalkaska County Airport. A home was damaged in a subdivision just south of Crofton. The most substantial damage, as well as the fatality, occurred near the intersection of US-131 and Crofton Road. A large metal warehouse was damaged, a single wide mobile home was destroyed, and several stick-built homes received moderate to severe damage. The fatality and injury occurred inside the mobile home. A 29 year old man was pulled from the mobile home, but passed away at a nearby hospital.…

2. Aug 2, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$540,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A swath of widespread wind damage continued across northern Kalkaska County. Hundreds of trees were downed, damaging vehicles and structures as they fell. Between 40 and 50 structures were believed damaged to some extent in Kalkaska County.

3. Mar 2, 2012Heavy Snow, Kalkaska$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   One of the highest-impact snowstorms in recent memory pounded Northern Michigan on the night of the 2nd. Low pressure tracked from Missouri, to southern Lower Michigan, and on to eastern Canada, while rapidly strengthening. Precipitation surged northward into the region on the evening of the 2nd. This was primarily snow, except in parts of east central Lower Michigan (especially near Lake Huron), where temperatures were mild enough for rain. Snow wound down on the morning of the 3rd, and though somewhat blustery winds occurred behind the system on the 3rd, blowing snow was limited because the snowfall was so wet.|Snow totals ranged from 6 to 14 inches across most of Northern…

4. Sep 1, 2014Tornado$160,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-1 tornado impacted northeast Kalkaska County. Most of the damage was comprised of uprooted or broken hardwood and softwood trees. Several residences were damaged by falling trees. Peak winds were estimated at 100 mph.

5. May 18, 2010Wildfire, Kalkaska$125,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Range 9 Fire started on the 18th as a controlled burn on an artillery range on Camp Grayling, a National Guard facility. The fire got out of control after 230 pm as winds picked up. Most of the 1100 acres burned were grassy areas on the Camp Grayling grounds. However, a portion of the fire crossed the military installation's property line near the Manistee River in Blue Lake Township, destroying four seasonal homes. The fire was under control by late evening.

6. Dec 20, 2012Winter Storm, Kalkaska$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A powerful low pressure system passed across Southern Lower Michigan on the night of the 20th. Precipitation surged north into Northern Michigan early in the day on the 20th, falling primarily as snow over Eastern Upper and the high terrain of Northern Lower, and as a rain/snow mix near the coasts. The snow was heavy where it was all snow, with 6 to 9 inches falling during the day in some areas. As night arrived, cooler air started to enter the region, and precipitation changed to all snow (except near Saginaw Bay). Another, more widespread round of heavy snow resulted. Total snowfall amounts of 5 to 10 inches were common near the Northern Lower Michigan coastline, ramping up to…

7. May 28, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Over a hundred trees were downed, scattered across central and eastern Kalkaska County.

8. Jun 7, 2006Flash Flood$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Nearly stationary thunderstorms developed in the pre-dawn hours, directly underneath a slow-moving upper level low pressure system. Radar estimated that around 4 inches of rain fell in a portion of the Rapid River basin, just north of Kalkaska. Flooding was enhanced by the failure of a beaver dam on a small creek. Part of Wood Road was washed out by the high water, and Smith and Holly Roads were also impacted. Traffic on US-131 at the Rapid River bridge was reduced to one lane for a time, as waters raged close to underside of the bridge.

9. Nov 13, 2003Winter Storm, Kalkaska$15,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Low pressure intensified rapidly as it moved through and east of the northern Great Lakes region. Winds rapidly increased behind a cold front passage on the evening of the 12th, with numerous wind gusts in excess of 50 mph. Some of the highest gusts: 62 mph at Pellston (129 am on the 13th), 61 mph at Charlevoix (1014 pm on the 12th), 56 mph at Harbor Springs (1234 am on the 13th) and Oscoda (256 am on the 13th), 77 mph at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (1108 pm on the 12th). The highest wind gust in the region was 79 mph at the Presque Isle Lighthouse (548 am on the 13th). Spotters reported wind gusts in excess of 55 mph at Manistee, Northport, and Ossineke. The winds…

10. Aug 10, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$10,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Widespread tree and powerline damage over northern half of Kalkaska county between approximately 1055 and 1125 PM.

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

97°FJul 1, 2018

All-time low

−34°F2 times, most recently Feb 5, 1996

Warmest night

78°FJun 23, 2025

Coldest day

−7°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

3.62 inMay 29, 1942

Snowiest day

24.0 in2 times, most recently Jan 26, 1990

Hottest year

2024mean 46.8°F

Coldest year

2014mean 39.8°F

Wettest year

201744.65 in

Driest year

197623.53 in

Snowiest season

211.9 in1996-97

Station Kalkaska (USC00204257), 1,035 ft elevation, 0.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1974 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 USC00204257.
• 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.