High Wind in Michigan

Events

1,327

Deaths

6

Injuries

11

Damage

$796 million

• High Wind in Michigan, March 8, 20172 deaths · $230 million · 61 kt wind · 23 eventsWidespread non thunderstorm wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph caused hundreds of thousands of people to lose power on March 8th. At one point slightly over one million people were without power in Michigan.
• Lakeshore Flood and High Wind in Michigan, October 24, 20172 deaths · $871,000 · 52 kt wind · 5 eventsA rapidly deepening fall storm system tracking from the Ohio Valley to near the Mackinac Straits produced very strong and damaging north winds up to 60 mph, power outages and extensive lake shore flooding over mainly the north half of Upper Michigan on the 24th.
• High Wind and Winter Weather in Michigan, December 15 to 16, 20212 deaths · 1 injured · $218,000 · 61 kt wind · 14 eventsA powerful storm tracking through the Upper Great Lakes produced strong and damaging winds across much of west and central Upper Michigan on the 16th.
• Damaging Winds and High Wind in Michigan, May 4, 20181 death · 1 injured · $38 million · 70 kt wind · 28 eventsA strong low pressure system tracked through northern Lower Michigan, swinging a strong cold front through southeast Michigan early in the afternoon.
• High Wind in Michigan, March 8, 2017$295 million · 59 kt wind · 17 eventsA non thunderstorm event took place over the state on Wednesday, March 8, 2017, as high winds brought wind gusts in excess of 60 mph! The high winds took out power lines and trees, along with numerous reports of structural damage to buildings.
• Hail and Damaging Winds in Michigan, November 17 to 18, 2013$27 million · 61 kt wind · 37 eventsA powerful low pressure system strengthened and tracked northeast from the western Great Lakes towards James Bay during the afternoon of November 17th through the overnight hours.
• High Wind in Michigan, February 24 to 25, 2019$52 million · 52 kt wind · 16 eventsA high wind event occurred with wind gusts reaching the 55 to 65 mph range that resulted in the loss of power to around a million people on the 24th into the 25th. In Kent county alone over 280,000 people lost power.
• High Wind in Michigan, March 13 to 14, 20061 death · 2 injured · 52 kt wind · 12 eventsA very deep low pressure system moved northeast across northern Lake Michigan early on the evening of the 13th. Damaging winds sustained from 30 to 40 MPH with frequent gusts over 50 MPH began during the late afternoon of the 13th and continued until 0300 EST on the 14th.
• Tornado and High Wind in Michigan, November 10 to 11, 19981 death · F0 · 24 eventsA low pressure system of historic dimension moved from the central plains across the upper midwest and Lake superior to Ontario, Canada. Winds during this event exceeded 50 mph across the entire county warning area.
• High Wind in Michigan, December 28, 2008$23 million · 59 kt wind · 17 eventsA rapidly deepening low pressure system tracked northeast from northern Lake Michigan, sending a strong cold front through southeast Michigan.
• High Wind in Michigan, November 12 to 13, 2003$21 million · 76 kt wind · 17 eventsA strong low pressure system moved across the straits on the evening of the 12th, moving into Ontario overnight as it deepened to 974 mb.
• Damaging Wind and High Wind in Michigan, November 15 to 16, 20052 injured · $7.4 million · 52 kt wind · 20 eventsThis was the third powerful storm to hit the area in a week and a half, leading to yet another round of strong winds. An impressive warm front lifted north through Southeast Lower Michigan during the afternoon and evening of the 15th.
• High Wind in Michigan, February 19 to 20, 2016$31 million · 52 kt wind · 6 eventsStrong southwest winds of 50 to 60 mph brought down trees...tree limbs...and power lines...mainly along the M-59 corridor and I-94 corridors of Southeast Michigan.
• High Wind in Michigan, January 19 to 20, 2013$14 million · 53 kt wind · 14 eventsAn intense Arctic Front swept through southeast Michigan around Midnight of January 19th, with westerly winds gusting around 60 mph across much of the area during the early morning hours of January 20th.
• High Wind in Michigan, September 30, 20111 death · 55 kt wind · 1 eventDeep low pressure moving across the northern Great Lakes caused a pressure gradient across much of the region. Strong winds aloft were mixed down and caused pockets of wind damage, power outages and even some school closures due to the power outages.
• High Wind in Michigan, February 24, 2019$8.5 million · 53 kt wind · 17 eventsA low pressure system quickly intensified over the weekend of February 23-24th, as it crossed the Great Lakes region. This system brought blizzard warnings to western portions of the Great Lakes to high winds across the rest of the region.
• High Wind in Michigan, April 6 to 7, 1997$5.0 million · 28 eventsAn intense early spring low pressure system moving across the Great Lakes brought gale force westerly winds to all of Lower Michigan behind a strong cold front. The cold front moved onshore in western Lower Michigan around 5 PM EDT Sunday, April 6th.
• High Wind in Michigan, November 10 to 11, 1998$10 million · 76 kt wind · 12 eventsOn the 23rd anniversary of the 1975 storm that sank the Edmond Fitzgerald on Lake Superior, a deep low pressure system (central pressure 28.41 inches of mercury) developed over the central plains and tracked northeast across western Lake Superior.
• Lakeshore Flood and High Wind in Michigan, November 15, 2020$6.7 million · 56 kt wind · 18 eventsStrong low pressure tracking through the northern Great Lakes produced a long duration of strong winds to southeast Michigan late in the morning of the 15th through the afternoon and into the evening.
• High Wind in Michigan, December 11, 2021$5.1 million · 56 kt wind · 17 eventsA strong low pressure system and attendant cold front tracked across the central Great Lakes on December 11th. Widespread 50-60 mph gusts were observed, with isolated higher gusts up to 64 mph (measured at both Harbor Beach and Detroit Metro Airport).
• High Wind in Michigan, November 6, 2005$4.2 million · 52 kt wind · 15 eventsA deep and rapidly intensifying November storm system moved North-NorthEast through Southeast Lower Michigan during the morning. High winds along the associated cold front knocked down trees leading to widespread power outages.
• High Wind in Michigan, November 17 to 18, 2013$2.6 million · 67 kt wind · 23 eventsA very strong low pressure system continued to intensify as it moved northeast across the Great Lakes region November 17th and 18th.
• High Wind in Michigan, October 30, 2004$3.5 million · 54 kt wind · 17 eventsA strong low pressure system tracked through Lake Superior during the 30th, with the associated cold front moving through southeast Michigan during the morning hours. Strong cold advection and a tight pressure gradient lead to high winds during the afternoon hours.
• High Wind in Michigan, January 9, 2026$4.0 million · 58 kt wind · 4 eventsA strong low over Ontario allowed record warmth to spread into southeast Michigan, as Detroit Metro Airport reached 60 degrees. This warmth and a dry slot moving through allowed for good mixing, leading to wind gusts of 45-55 mph across most of southeast Michigan.
• High Wind in Michigan, April 6 to 7, 19971 injured · $1.2 million · 70 kt wind · 17 eventsA strong cold front tracked across southeast Michigan during the late afternoon on the 6th. Very strong west to southwest winds accompanied the frontal passage, then continued through the night. Gusts to 70 mph were estimated in a few spots during the late afternoon.

High Wind everywhereEvery kind of event in Michigan

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.