Leelanau County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by USGS MI South Manitou (354), USGS MI North Manitou (286).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 2, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$18.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An NWS storm survey team estimated winds in excess of 80 mph crossing much of southern Leelanau County. Thousands of trees were downed in this swath, from the Sleeping Bear Dunes to Grand Traverse Bay. Many homes and vehicles were damaged by falling trees. Area roads were closed for days, in some cases weeks. Glen Arbor was inaccessible via road for two days, until M-22 could be cleared of trees and reopened. The county established drop points for residents to leave storm debris; these remained open for seven weeks after the storm. Across Leelanau County, two homes were destroyed, and over 700 were damaged in some way.

2. Aug 2, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$5.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees and power lines were downed in northern Leelanau County, though the damage was not as extensive as further south. Still, multiple vehicles and homes were damaged by falling trees.

3. Mar 2, 2012Heavy Snow, Leelanau$650,000
   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. Oct 21, 2019Lakeshore Flood, Leelanau$175,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   In Northport on the 21st, a dock was damaged and a boat house was flooded. Water levels rose over the docks at Northport Marina. On the 22nd in Empire, a part of the break wall at Empire Beach was destroyed. In Glen Haven, restoration efforts from flooding earlier in the month were eliminated, and shoreline fences were destroyed at Glen Haven Beach.

5. Jul 8, 2016Hail$85,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hail to golfball-sized was reported in Empire, and up to three inches in diameter in Glen Arbor. Some vehicles were damaged, and a few homes lost windows and skylights. Considerable damage was done to orchards and vineyards in the area.

6. Sep 1, 2000Flash Flood$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms formed along a warm front that stretched across northern Lower Michigan. The first thunderstorms began in Leelanau County around 400 pm and intensified quickly over the next hour. One thunderstorm intensified west of Traverse City and quickly moved over the downtown area. As the storm moved east of the city, a 60 MPH wind gust was reported, followed by a report of one inch diameter hail. Meanwhile, more storms producing very heavy rainfall formed over Lake Michigan and continued to dump rain over Leelanau county, mainly to the south of Leland and Suttons Bay, as well as over the Traverse City metropolitan area. The rain lasted over these locations from 600 pm to 1130…

7. Aug 12, 2007Lightning$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A lightning strike ignited a fire, which destroyed a three-car garage and a boat that was inside, and melted vinyl siding on an adjacent home.

8. Nov 13, 2005High Wind, Leelanau$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees downed. Some utility poles were broken. 66 mph gust measured at Sleeping Bear Dunes, and 63 mph in Northport.

9. Jun 22, 2011Tornado$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down near the west shore of Lake Leelanau, then moved out onto the lake and quickly dissipated. Docks and boats were damaged along a short stretch of shoreline, and a few trees were downed in the area.

10. Jun 3, 2017Thunderstorm Wind$20,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A boat was flipped, and the dock it was attached to was destroyed. This occurred on Lake Leelanau, along South Sandy Beach Drive.

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

105°FJul 7, 1936

All-time low

−37°FFeb 17, 1979

Warmest night

85°FAug 20, 1916

Coldest day

−10°FFeb 10, 1899

Wettest day

4.30 inAug 23, 1898

Snowiest day

16.0 in2 times, most recently Jan 25, 1990

Hottest year

2024mean 51.2°F

Coldest year

1904mean 41.9°F

Wettest year

194240.28 in

Driest year

191315.06 in

Snowiest season

191.2 in1995-96

Station Traverse City Cherry Capital Airport (USW00014850), 608 ft elevation, 14.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1896 to October 26, 2026; 99.8% 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 USW00014850.
• 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.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• 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.