Van Buren County

Every recorded tornado

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

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

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. Apr 5, 2010Hail$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trained spotters across the far southeastern portion of Van Buren county reported hail up to one and a quarter inches in diameter and wind damage. Several trees were blown down and the large wind driven hail resulted in siding damage to homes across that area.

2. Mar 8, 2017High Wind, Van Buren$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Peak wind gusts in the 60 to 70 mph range resulted in numerous downed trees and limbs and power lines and widespread power outages.

3. Apr 17, 2013Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant flooding occurred on rivers and streams across Van Buren county due to heavy rainfall from early to mid April.

4. Jun 13, 2022Thunderstorm Wind$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trained spotters reported numerous trees and tree limbs and power lines down across mainly southern Van Buren county. Hail up to one inch in diameter was also reported. Two miles west of Lawrence there was a higher concentration of several dozen large healthy tree trunks snapped, uprooted, or large limbs snapped. Damage occurred to at least 3 residences due to fallen trees, one probably a total loss, another with significant roof damage. Cleanup was still ongoing 12 days after the storms struck. Just east of Hartford, hundreds of trees were scattered within approximately a 6 square-mile area with large limbs snapped, trunks snapped, or uprooted. Damage was centered in and near the…

5. Feb 24, 2019High Wind, Van Buren$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Downed tree limbs and power lines and widespread power outages occurred due to wind gusts of up to around 60 mph.

6. Jun 26, 2020Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorm downburst winds brought down numerous large trees in swaths near and just west of Covert and also in and near Lawrence and Paw Paw. Several garages and outbuildings also sustained damage.

7. May 21, 2004Flood, Van Buren$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The biggest and longest duration flooding event in the past ten to twenty years occurred across southwestern and south central lower Michigan from May 20th through the third of June. Flooding in mid May resulted in very high river levels and the ground was saturated on the 20th. Numerous thunderstorm complexes and areas of heavy rainfall developed repeatedly in the vicinity of a quasi stationary frontal boundary draped across southern lower Michigan. The heaviest rain fell on Saturday, May 22nd, when over two inches of rain fell over most of the area. Total rainfall over the Grand River basin from May 20th through June 3rd varied from four to as much as seven inches.The Grand…

8. Nov 17, 2013Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An NWS storm survey indicated that microburst straight line wind damage with maximum winds of 75 mph caused part of the roof of Mattawan high school to be torn off. Several trees were blown down and awning and roof damage was also incurred at an apartment.

9. Feb 27, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A trained spotter three miles south southwest of Lawton reported that several trees and power lines were blown down onto county road 669 just north of 79th street. Several trees and limbs were blown down onto homes and outbuildings in the area.

10. Jun 16, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Numerous trees were blown down near Lawton.

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

103°F2 times, most recently Jul 31, 1999

All-time low

−23°FFeb 7, 1978

Warmest night

78°FJun 27, 1969

Coldest day

−12°FJan 31, 2019

Wettest day

5.79 inAug 16, 2016

Snowiest day

15.0 inJan 26, 1978

Hottest year

1998mean 52.2°F

Coldest year

2014mean 45.4°F

Wettest year

199053.51 in

Driest year

195827.29 in

Snowiest season

135.9 in2013-14

Station Dowagiac 1 W (USC00202250), 740 ft elevation, 20.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1953 to October 23, 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 USC00202250.
• 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.