Counties with the most tornadoes in Michigan

It's been a busy year for tornadoes in the U.S. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as many as 1,155 twisters have touched down across the country since the start of the year, above the average for this time of year.

A single day can drive up tornado counts. March 31, 2023, accounted for 163 tornadoes across the Midwest and South. Tornado activity usually peaks in the spring and early summer, and the pace of tornadoes usually slows around late summer. A smaller-scale second tornado season emerges in the fall, mostly in the Gulf Coast states.

Stacker used data from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information to find the counties in Michigan that have experienced the most tornadoes since 2000. While data is available going back to 1950, tornado tracking by the National Weather Service became more robust and accurate in the 1990s. Since counties can vary in size, they are ranked by the number of tornadoes per 100 square miles. Counties that experienced less than five tornadoes are not included.

The counties that encounter the most tornadoes aren't all in the infamous Tornado Alley. When adjusted for county area, the top 10 counties that experienced the most tornadoes since 2000 are from nine different states, all in the Southeast with the exception of Cleveland County, Oklahoma.

Research has shown that Tornado Alley is shifting due to warming temperatures fueled by climate change. In the future, the Southeast could become the region that receives the bulk of the country's tornadoes. It's a concerning trend as the South is more populated than the Great Plains and has a higher concentration of mobile homes than other parts of the country, making the storms potentially deadlier and costlier.

As of August 2023, 75 people have died from tornadoes this year, and over 60% of those deaths occurred in mobile homes.

The best way to stay protected during tornadoes is to have multiple ways of receiving storm updates including social media, radio, television, and sirens, and to immediately seek shelter in a basement or interior room without windows when a tornado watch escalates to a warning.

Read on to see which counties experience the most tornadoes in Michigan.

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#29. Marquette County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (0.33 per 100 square miles)
- #2,020 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#28. Lapeer County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (0.78 per 100 square miles)
- #1,883 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#27. Dickinson County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (0.79 per 100 square miles)
- #1,877 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#26. Sanilac County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (0.83 per 100 square miles)
- #1,859 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#25. Hillsdale County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (0.84 per 100 square miles)
- #1,858 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#24. Washtenaw County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (0.85 per 100 square miles)
- #1,851 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#23. Gratiot County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (0.88 per 100 square miles)
- #1,841 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#22. Ottawa County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (0.89 per 100 square miles)
- #1,834 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#21. Oakland County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (0.92 per 100 square miles)
- #1,814 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#20. St. Clair County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (0.97 per 100 square miles)
- #1,792 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#19. Wayne County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (0.98 per 100 square miles)
- #1,787 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#18. Macomb County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (1.04 per 100 square miles)
- #1,759 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#17. Kalamazoo County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (1.07 per 100 square miles)
- #1,740 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#16. Huron County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (1.08 per 100 square miles)
- #1,734 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#15. Ingham County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (1.08 per 100 square miles)
- #1,732 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#14. Bay County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (1.13 per 100 square miles)
- #1,697 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#13. Eaton County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (1.22 per 100 square miles)
- #1,630 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#12. Berrien County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (1.23 per 100 square miles)
- #1,612 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#11. Livingston County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (1.24 per 100 square miles)
- #1,606 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#10. Tuscola County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (1.25 per 100 square miles)
- #1,596 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#9. Saginaw County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (1.25 per 100 square miles)
- #1,592 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#8. Allegan County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (1.33 per 100 square miles)
- #1,530 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#7. St. Joseph County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (1.40 per 100 square miles)
- #1,484 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#6. Cass County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (1.43 per 100 square miles)
- #1,460 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#5. Ionia County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (1.58 per 100 square miles)
- #1,375 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#4. Kent County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (1.65 per 100 square miles)
- #1,309 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#3. Monroe County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (1.82 per 100 square miles)
- #1,192 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#2. Genesee County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (2.35 per 100 square miles)
- #822 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#1. Shiawassee County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (2.45 per 100 square miles)
- #750 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0