Manistee County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jul 20, 2019Flash Flood$3.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms moved repeatedly over Manistee County in the morning and afternoon of the 20th. Excessive rainfall produced substantial flooding across central and southern Manistee County. By late on the 20th, rainfall totals reached 8.90 in Parkdale (near Manistee), and 5.95 in Wellston. Water entered numerous homes and stores in the greater Manistee area, and in Dublin, resulting in property damage. The campground at Orchard Beach State Park was at one point under four feet of water. Many roads were flooded and closed to travel for several hours. 12th Street in the city of Manistee was washed out. Places near the Manistee River were most susceptible to flooding.

2. Apr 27, 2024Hail$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Images shared on social media from Zosel St. in Onekama of measured 2 inch hail. Damage to vehicles and home siding. Time estimated from radar.

3. Jun 12, 2008Flash Flood$970,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Spotters in Manistee and Wellston measured around six inches of rain in a few hours very late on the 12th into the pre-dawn hours of the 13th. Radar estimated up to ten inches of rainfall along the southern border of Manistee County. Substantial flash flooding resulted, with considerable soil erosion, thanks in part to the sandy soils of the area. At one point the majority of roads in the south half of Manistee County were under water. High water entered some homes. In the city of Manistee, asphalt, stop signs, and light posts were flushed into Lake Michigan by the raging waters. The county road commission estimated $500,000 in damages to the county road system.

4. Jul 24, 2005Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A slow moving thunderstorm dumped over three inches of rain (and hail) on the southwest corner of Manistee County. A spotter in the city of Manistee reported 4.35 inches of rain in two and a half hours. Widespread urban flooding resulted in the city and its environs, with the worst damage along the River Street corridor. Erosion was severe in spots, due to the sandy soils prevalent in the area. Some gravel roads and driveways were washed out; city streets had one to two feet of flowing water in them. Numerous vehicles stalled out in the high water. Basement flooding was also widespread. A hotel had flood waters enter its ground floor, prompting the evacuation of twenty five…

5. Oct 16, 2019Lakeshore Flood, Manistee$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding covered a portion of Lakeshore Drive at 5th Avenue Beach in Manistee. In Parkdale Township, the beach eroded up to the foundation of several homes, and a number of trees were washed into the lake.

6. Mar 2, 2012Heavy Snow, Manistee$350,000
   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…

7. Jun 12, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$195,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread thunderstorm wind damage occurred across the south half of the city of Manistee, and especially between 2nd and 10th Streets. Many trees were downed, and some structures were damaged, mainly by falling trees.

8. Oct 22, 2019Lakeshore Flood, Manistee$142,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A dock, boardwalk, and beach signage were destroyed in Parkdale Township.

9. Apr 10, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$120,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind gusts were measured to 79 mph at Manistee Harbor, and to 62 mph at Manistee Blacker Airport. The most intense damage was in a localized, one square mile area, on the north side of downtown Manistee. A pole building was destroyed, and there was damage to trees and shingles along Monroe Street. Roofs and overhead doors were damaged in several commercial buildings along Glocheski Drive and Washington Street.

10. Apr 27, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Reports of wind damage, including uprooted trees, during large hail event in Onekama.

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

100°FAug 5, 1947

All-time low

−38°FFeb 11, 1899

Warmest night

81°FJul 15, 1931

Coldest day

−2°FJan 15, 1972

Wettest day

7.01 inJun 13, 2008

Snowiest day

24.0 inJan 23, 1898

Hottest year

2012mean 51.1°F

Coldest year

1992mean 39.9°F

Wettest year

200850.71 in

Driest year

195522.09 in

Snowiest season

140.5 in1970-71

Station Manistee 3SE (USC00205065), 670 ft elevation, 8.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1888 to September 30, 2026; 97.4% 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 USC00205065.
• 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.