Flash Flood in Michigan
Every flash flood event the National Weather Service has filed in Michigan, year by year, with the most significant episodes. Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
The most significant on the map
The most significant flash flood episodes in Michigan.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 541
- Deaths
- 6
- Injuries
- 8
- Damage
- $2.6 billion
Every year
The most significant
Ranked by deaths, injuries, damage and size together.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Michigan, July 2 to 4, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Michigan, June 7 to 8, 2008Severe thunderstorms produced several reports of damaging wind gusts and also caused significant flooding. In fact a presidential disaster declaration was issued for Allegan, Barry, Eaton and Ottawa counties.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Michigan, March 15, 2012An amplified, upper level weather pattern allowed for an unseasonably warm and humid air mass to infiltrate the southern Great Lakes region. Highly anomalous for the month of March, surface dew points climbed into the lower 60 degree range across much of Southeastern Michigan.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Michigan, June 5 to 6, 2010A strong low pressure system tracked through Detroit Metro area during the early morning hours of June 6th, spawning three tornadoes south of I-94, with flash flooding occuring over Washtenaw and Wayne counties as 2 to 4 inches of rain was recorded.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Michigan, June 16 to 17, 2018A very moist and unstable air mass in place and the presence of a nearly stationary frontal boundary produced several rounds of severe storms and flash flooding across portions of west and central Upper Michigan from the 16th into the 17th.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Michigan, June 25 to 26, 2021After several weeks of moderate to severe drought conditions in Southeast Michigan, an active weather pattern brought widespread rainfall and flooding to Metro Detroit and surrounding areas during the weekend of June 25-27th.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Michigan, October 24, 2001A major severe weather episode occurred across southern lower Michigan, highlighted by three supercell thunderstorms that caused extensive damage. The first supercell storm moved into southwest Kalamazoo county just southwest of Schoolcraft.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Michigan, May 18 to 19, 2000A cold front moved slowly south across southeast Michigan on the morning and afternoon of the 18th. Thunderstorms developed along and ahead of the front. A number of these became severe, producing marginally severe hail.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Michigan, June 19 to 20, 2009Thunderstorms developed and moved across Lake Michigan during the evening hours on June 19th. Several hours of intense rainfall occurred starting around 7:00 PM EST. The ground was already saturated from early morning thunderstorms that produced very heavy rainfall.
- Flash Flood in Michigan, June 21 to 22, 1996
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Michigan, August 11 to 13, 2014A historic rainfall event unfolded over Southeast Michigan on Monday, August 11, leading to major flooding and road closures. This event was caused by a strengthening low pressure system moving over the area, focusing the tropical moisture which came up from the south.
- Flash Flood in Michigan, June 18, 1996A series of heavy thunderstorms moved across Oakland county during the afternoon on the 18th, producing rainfall amounts of around 3 inches across much of the county. A 24-hour rainfall of 3.11 inches was recorded at the National Weather Service Forecast Office at White Lake.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Michigan, September 1, 2000Thunderstorms 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.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Michigan, August 23 to 24, 2023Thunderstorms producing torrential rainfall led to flooding in the Detroit metro area early Thursday morning (August 24th). Western Wayne county into Monroe county was hardest hit resulting in widespread residential flooding, road closures, and stranded vehicles.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Michigan, May 16 to 26, 2020A stalled low pressure system and frontal boundary across the southern Great Lakes region brought record rainfall to southeast Michigan beginning the morning of May 17, 2020 and continuing into the afternoon hours of May 19, 2020.
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Michigan, June 20 to 23, 1997During Friday, June 20th, very warm, moist and unstable air was in place across much of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, ahead of a strong, slow-moving cold front across the western Great Lakes region.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Michigan, June 27, 2007Numerous waves of thunderstorms affected southeast Michigan during the afternoon and evening of June 27, 2007. Severe storms developed along and ahead of a cold front, which dropped south through a very warm and humid airmass. There were numerous reports of wind damage and hail.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Michigan, June 22 to 28, 2017Warm, moist tropical air during the day on Thursday helped to spark severe storms that began to develop during the late afternoon hours. These storms continued through the evening before the severe threat switched over to a flooding threat during the overnight hours.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Michigan, July 24, 2021An active severe weather season for Southeast Michigan continued on July 24, 2021 with another round of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Michigan, May 15 to 17, 2001Thunderstorms developed during the morning hours of the 15th, producing several reports of large hail and high winds.
- Flash Flood and Flood in Michigan, May 1, 2019Heavy rain with thunderstorms produced 2 to 4 inches of rain in about a 4 hour window across the I-94 corridor. This amount of rain in a short period caused flash flooding across parts of Wayne County, with the Dearborn Heights area being hardest hit.
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Michigan, September 11 to 12, 2000A warm and muggy airmass persisted over southeast Michigan. A complex of thunderstorms moved east across northern Michigan in the early morning hours.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Michigan, September 30, 2002On Sep 30, a short wave moving from the plains into south central Canada brought a warm front into Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Scattered thunderstorms developed along the front, with several of these storms becoming severe.
- Flash Flood and Flooding in Michigan, May 18 to 22, 2020A very slow moving low pressure system advanced east from the central Plains. Unusually deep moisture was pushed northward into the Great Lakes region, ahead of this low. Multiple rounds of heavy rain fell in parts of northern lower Michigan on the 17th and 18th.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Michigan, July 4 to 31, 1999Many trees and power poles down.
More
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24.