Otsego County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Otsego County: 2.
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. May 20, 2022Tornado$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado formed in Antrim county 4 miles east of Alba and continued into Otsego county 100 yards SE of the Alba Rd/Old Alba Rd intersection. The tornado continued to move east northeast for almost 16 additional miles before dissipating around 1.75 miles northeast of Sparr. The tornado was rated EF3 in Otsego county based on damage surveyed in multiple locations around the Gaylord area. The first of these locations was damage in the Nottingham Forest manufactured home community. Multiple units were completely destroyed with debris blown away from the original locations of the units (DI 4, DOD 12). The second location was the business district of Gaylord where the buildings of…

2. Aug 28, 2018Thunderstorm Wind$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A swath of widespread wind damage extended from west-southwest to east of the city of Gaylord. Some of the most concentrated damage was along Van Tyle Road between Hayes Tower Road and Dickerson Road. Hundreds of trees were snapped off or uprooted. Several buildings and vehicles were damaged by falling trees. At least two homes were destroyed. One person was taken to the local hospital for minor injuries after a tree landed their home. The roof of a small business on the west side of Gaylord was partially removed. Power was knocked out to much of the area.

3. Jul 22, 2009Lightning$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A lightning strike ignited a rapidly-spreading fire that destroyed the Alpine Haus apartment complex. All residents were safely evacuated, but 52 people were left homeless.

4. Sep 4, 2014Thunderstorm Wind$295,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread tree damage, and spotty structural damage, occurred in far southern Otsego County, near and east of Waters. Some residential areas east of Waters were inaccessible for many hours after the event, until downed trees could be cleared off of roads. Several vehicles and homes were damaged by fallen trees. One carport in Waters was blown a considerable distance.

5. Sep 1, 2014Tornado$215,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-1 tornado carved a path across southeast Otsego County. A large number of hardwood and softwood trees were downed, with several falling on area residences. Peak winds were estimated at 110 mph.

6. Mar 2, 2012Heavy Snow, Otsego$215,000
   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. Jul 19, 2020Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An estimated 350 to 400 trees were downed in and around the Louis M. Groen Nature Preserve.

8. Dec 20, 2012Winter Storm, Otsego$85,000
   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…

9. Jul 15, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$55,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A swath of wind damage occurred from west of Gaylord, to central Otsego Lake. Trees were downed along M-32, Hayes Tower Road, and West Otsego Lake Drive. One very large limb was downed onto a cabin near the Beaver Creek Resort. Some damage was done to boats and docks on Otsego Lake.

10. Aug 28, 2018Thunderstorm Wind$35,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A number of large trees were downed from Elmira to Gaylord, including a few onto homes.

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

108°FJul 11, 1936

All-time low

−51°FFeb 9, 1934

Warmest night

79°FSep 3, 1929

Coldest day

−11°FFeb 11, 1917

Wettest day

4.42 inSep 3, 1937

Snowiest day

20.0 inMar 24, 1951

Hottest year

2024mean 46.0°F

Coldest year

1917mean 37.0°F

Wettest year

192140.09 in

Driest year

191822.09 in

Snowiest season

188.6 in1970-71

Station Vanderbilt 11ENE (USC00208417), 905 ft elevation, 15.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1913 to October 14, 2026; 97.8% 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 USC00208417.
• 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.