Ogemaw County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Ogemaw 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. Aug 2, 2015Hail$32.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   These were the largest known hailstones in northern lower Michigan history. Hail reached just slightly larger than softballs, a few miles north of West Branch. Immense property destruction resulted, with many, many vehicles considered to be total losses, and roofs and siding dented and damaged. Around 350 structures were damaged in some way, shape, or form.

2. May 18, 2020Flood$450,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread areal flooding developed in central and southern Ogemaw County on the 18th. Many creeks and rivers rose out of their banks, including the Rifle River system. Many roads across the county were closed. The Prescott area was especially hard hit, with some property damage due to flooding.

3. Jun 8, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$190,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread trees and power lines downed in the West Branch area. Some damage to structures due to falling trees. Considerable roof damage, including a few roofs completely blown off structures.

4. Jun 12, 2010Flash Flood$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Slow-moving thunderstorms dumped 2.5 to 4.0 inches of rain on the Rose City area on the night of the 11th-12th. The resulting flooding caused damage to 20 basements, and washed out a bridge in the area. Some roads were barricaded or otherwise blocked for several hours to warn off motorists.

5. Jun 6, 2008Tornado$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down near intersection of M-33 and Sage Lake Road, and lifted about a mile to the northeast. Several farms and residences suffered roof damage, some outbuildings were also damaged, and a number of trees and large limbs were downed.

6. Aug 28, 2018Tornado$65,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A brief tornado with maximum winds of 100 mph touched down 4 miles northeast of West Branch, crossing Mud Lake Road. Damage was mostly confined to two homes on the east side of Mud Lake Road.

7. Mar 2, 2012Heavy Snow, Ogemaw$50,000
   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…

8. Aug 17, 2017Tornado$45,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF0 tornado developed over George Lake, and crossed Maple Avenue at the north end of the lake before dissipating. Maximum winds were estimated at 80 mph. Damage was done to docks, outbuildings, and the siding of a few homes.

9. Sep 8, 2015Tornado$40,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado tracked nearly nine miles across northern Ogemaw County. Damage was sporadic along the path, peaking at EF-1. A number of trees were downed, in some cases snapped off. Several homes and other structures were damaged by downed trees.

10. Jul 18, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$35,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Numerous trees and power lines were downed. Several vehicles and homes were struck and damaged by fallen trees. Some minor street flooding also occurred.

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

107°FJul 13, 1936

All-time low

−36°FFeb 10, 1912

Warmest night

80°FJul 5, 1999

Coldest day

−6°FFeb 9, 1912

Wettest day

4.36 inOct 3, 1954

Snowiest day

14.0 inFeb 14, 1911

Hottest year

2024mean 47.9°F

Coldest year

1917mean 39.7°F

Wettest year

201945.95 in

Driest year

190414.74 in

Snowiest season

95.0 in1951-52

Station W Branch 3SE (USC00208800), 885 ft elevation, 4.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1900 to October 26, 2026; 99.1% 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 USC00208800.
• 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.