Lake Michigan Beach, MI Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Lake Michigan Beach is about the same as Michigan average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Lake Michigan Beach is about the same as Michigan average and is about the same as the national average.
Earthquake Index, #362
| Lake Michigan Beach, MI | 0.01 |
| Michigan | 0.04 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| Lake Michigan Beach, MI | 0.0000 |
| Michigan | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #509
| Lake Michigan Beach, MI | 131.36 |
| Michigan | 140.33 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 2,009 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Lake Michigan Beach, MI were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 18 | Cold: | 6 | Dense Fog: | 4 | Drought: | 1 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 76 | Hail: | 380 | Heat: | 5 | Heavy Snow: | 189 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 24 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 43 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 1,074 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 0 | Winter Storm: | 114 | Winter Weather: | 14 |
| Other: | 61 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Lake Michigan Beach, MI.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Lake Michigan Beach, MI.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Lake Michigan Beach, MI.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 63 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Lake Michigan Beach, MI.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 10.7 | 1956-05-09 | 2 | 42°12'N / 86°10'W | 1.00 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Van Buren | |
| 11.4 | 1974-06-20 | 2 | 42°03'N / 86°18'W | 0.80 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Berrien | |
| 13.0 | 1979-06-07 | 2 | 42°05'N / 86°11'W | 2.00 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Van Buren | |
| 13.0 | 1976-03-04 | 2 | 41°57'N / 86°34'W | 42°05'N / 86°13'W | 20.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 9 | 250K | 0 | Berrien |
| 14.5 | 1967-04-21 | 2 | 42°01'N / 86°30'W | 1.00 Mile | 27 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Berrien | |
| 16.0 | 1954-05-31 | 2 | 42°18'N / 86°12'W | 42°24'N / 86°04'W | 9.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Van Buren |
| 16.4 | 1972-06-14 | 2 | 41°58'N / 86°29'W | 41°59'N / 86°26'W | 1.30 Miles | 70 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Berrien |
| 16.4 | 1992-07-13 | 2 | 42°02'N / 86°10'W | 42°04'N / 86°06'W | 4.00 Miles | 80 Yards | 0 | 25 | 250K | 0 | Cass |
| 16.5 | 2010-06-05 | 2 | 41°58'N / 86°30'W | 41°59'N / 86°26'W | 3.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 150K | 0K | Berrien |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A survey of the area between Baroda and Stevensville indicated damage consistent with a tornado. The damage started on Marrs Road, just west of Stevensville-Baroda Road. and continued east-northeast. The damage started with a travel trailer being thrown and destroyed as well as some tree damage. The circulation tracked mainly over open fields until reaching an area of homes on Lincoln Ave where the entire roof was ripped off a home (DI: FR12, DOD: 6) and another home suffered slightly less roof damage. The circulation continued northeast, crossing Hollywood Road, north of Linco Road. Several one year old 24 inch diameter power poles were snapped (DI: ETL; DOD 4). In addition, a harrow and trailer were thrown from a barn roughly 150 to 200 yards into a field. The circulation appears to dissipate north of Linco Road, on Scottdale Road. The tornado was roughly 200 yards wide at its peak. Maximum winds are estimated at around 125 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A warm front worked north towards lower Michigan during the evening hours of the 5th. Storms were initially slow to organize, but quickly intensified and became super cellular as they moved off Lake Michigan. A combination of tornadoes and micro bursts were found in surveys across Berrien, Cass and St. Joseph counties. | |||||||||||
| 16.9 | 1989-05-30 | 2 | 42°24'N / 86°12'W | 42°25'N / 86°11'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Van Buren |
| 17.7 | 1981-06-20 | 2 | 41°57'N / 86°21'W | 1.50 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Berrien | |
| 18.8 | 1980-05-13 | 3 | 42°13'N / 86°13'W | 42°18'N / 85°49'W | 21.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 15 | 2.5M | 0 | Van Buren |
| 19.0 | 1956-04-03 | 3 | 42°16'N / 86°08'W | 42°23'N / 85°57'W | 12.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 9 | 2.5M | 0 | Van Buren |
| 19.5 | 1976-03-04 | 2 | 42°05'N / 86°13'W | 42°15'N / 85°47'W | 24.80 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Van Buren |
| 21.4 | 1989-05-30 | 2 | 42°23'N / 86°02'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Van Buren | |
| 22.4 | 1989-05-30 | 2 | 42°25'N / 86°11'W | 42°32'N / 86°05'W | 9.20 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Allegan |
| 22.8 | 1979-04-12 | 2 | 41°51'N / 86°23'W | 41°54'N / 86°20'W | 3.30 Miles | 60 Yards | 0 | 6 | 250K | 0 | Berrien |
| 24.0 | 2010-06-05 | 2 | 41°57'N / 86°05'W | 41°57'N / 86°02'W | 3.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 100K | 0K | Cass |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: After leaving behind a swath of microburst winds, the storm intensified with a tornado touching down about a half mile southwest of Southwestern Michigan College, near Dowagiac. The circulation initially impacted the Pokagan subdivision with numerous homes suffering varying degrees of damage (DI: FR12 DOD: 4). The circulation continued east-southeast through mainly open and wooded areas, severely damaging numerous trees. The most extensive tree damage occurred near Michigan 62, west of Twin Lake Road where a 600 yard wide area of trees suffered extensive damage. The circulation was likely embedded within a much larger area of rear flank downdraft winds. The circulation then turned more southeast and hit a cemetery on Michigan 62, south of Cass Street. The circulation quickly dissipated after this point. Maximum winds are estimated at around 115 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A warm front worked north towards lower Michigan during the evening hours of the 5th. Storms were initially slow to organize, but quickly intensified and became super cellular as they moved off Lake Michigan. A combination of tornadoes and micro bursts were found in surveys across Berrien, Cass and St. Joseph counties. | |||||||||||
| 26.3 | 1960-06-16 | 2 | 41°50'N / 86°16'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Berrien | |||
| 26.3 | 1956-04-03 | 3 | 42°23'N / 85°57'W | 42°26'N / 85°56'W | 2.30 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Van Buren |
| 27.4 | 1956-06-26 | 2 | 41°49'N / 86°16'W | 0.10 Mile | 17 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Berrien | |
| 27.7 | 1986-06-19 | 2 | 41°55'N / 86°00'W | 1.30 Miles | 700 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Cass | |
| 28.6 | 2009-06-19 | 2 | 42°28'N / 86°00'W | 42°28'N / 85°53'W | 6.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Allegan |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: Damage to both trees and structures were found along the tornado path. A Circa 1940 pole barn was destroyed and numerous trees were snapped or uprooted just over a half a mile west of Chicora north of 108th Avenue. Further down the tornado's path, garage doors were blown out and carried 300 yards while two boats were blown out of the garage. The house suffered 80% shingle loss with one 2-foot diameter hole in the roof on the home's west side. This was approximately 0.35 miles north of Chicora. The most extensive damage occurred approximately one mile northeast of Chicora along 42nd Street. A roof was partially torn off of a house. A barn was blown about 20-feet off of its foundation. There were several telephone poles snapped with wires wrapped around a tree. A roof was ripped off a small unoccupied house with one wall collapsed. Debris was lofted up to one-half mile across a field. More shingle loss was found on the west side of a home located two-miles northeast of Chicora. Nearly 80% shingle loss was witnessed. Several utility poles were snapped with widespread tree damage through the area. More damage to a home was observed about a quarter-mile west of Schermerhorn Lake. The damage happened when numerous falling trees crushed it. One-quarter mile of 39th street was blocked by fallen trees. The trees were piled up to 15-feet deep on the road. As the tornado was weakening, a 30-foot metal tower was bent over half way up. This was located near the intersection of 37th Street and 109th Avenue. Minor roof damage was also noted to a home in this area. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Thunderstorms 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. In addition to the heavy rain, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes accompanied the thunderstorms. | |||||||||||
| 28.6 | 1986-09-29 | 2 | 42°12'N / 85°51'W | 42°12'N / 85°47'W | 3.80 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Van Buren |
| 30.1 | 1976-03-12 | 2 | 41°46'N / 86°43'W | 41°52'N / 86°34'W | 10.10 Miles | 83 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Berrien |
| 30.1 | 1998-08-25 | 2 | 41°51'N / 86°14'W | 41°47'N / 85°59'W | 9.00 Miles | 800 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 0 | Cass |
| Brief Description: ONE MOBILE HOME WAS COMPLETELY DEMOLISHED ON SOUTH SIDE OF JUNO LAKE AND SEVERAL OTHER HOMES AROUND JUNO, PAINTER, EAGLE AND CHRISTAN LAKE SUFFERED MINOR TO MODERATE STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. AN RV WAS TOSSED ABOUT AND ROTATED 180 DEGREES WHICH CAUSED MAJOR DAMAGE. NUMEROUS TREES WERE COMPLETELY FLATTENED WHICH ALSO CAUSED DAMAGE TO HOMES. MANY ROADS WERE BLOCKED BY FALLEN TREES...SNAPPED POWER POLES AND DOWNED POWER LINES. THIS TORNADO BEGAN IN NILES AND PEAKED IN INTENSITY AND WIDTH 3 MILES NORTHWEST OF EDWARDSBURG WHERE IT WIDENED OUT TO ONE HALF MILE. IT CONTINUED ON TOWARD THE TOWN OF BRISTOL IN NORTHEAST ELKHART COUNTY BEFORE LIFTING. | |||||||||||
| 31.1 | 1983-07-21 | 2 | 42°40'N / 86°12'W | 42°35'N / 86°07'W | 13.60 Miles | 200 Yards | 1 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Allegan |
| 31.7 | 1956-04-03 | 3 | 42°26'N / 85°56'W | 42°32'N / 85°50'W | 8.30 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 3 | 2.5M | 0 | Allegan |
| 32.5 | 1961-03-04 | 2 | 41°46'N / 86°45'W | 41°50'N / 86°39'W | 6.50 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Berrien |
| 33.1 | 1967-04-21 | 2 | 42°30'N / 86°08'W | 42°42'N / 85°53'W | 18.60 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Allegan |
| 35.4 | 1965-11-26 | 3 | 41°42'N / 86°30'W | 1.00 Mile | 70 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | St. Joseph | |
| 35.8 | 1958-06-24 | 2 | 41°45'N / 86°07'W | 41°45'N / 85°58'W | 7.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | St. Joseph |
| 36.0 | 2001-10-24 | 3 | 41°37'N / 86°26'W | 41°45'N / 86°18'W | 15.00 Miles | 1320 Yards | 1 | 2 | 3.0M | 0 | St. Joseph |
| Brief Description: This tornado touched down just southwest of Crumstown in St Joseph county Indiana and moved northeast into Berrien county Michigan (see Storm Data for Michigan, Extreme Southwest for more information on the end portion of this tornado). In St Joseph county Indiana the most significant damage was across Crumstown, where F3 damage with a path width up to 3/4 mile occurred. The tornado then moved to near the Michiana Regional Airport and across the Indiana Turnpike causing F0-F1 damage. Two men were injured northwest of South Bend. One man later died from his injuries. The tornado moved into Berrien county Michigan 6 miles NNW of South Bend. | |||||||||||
| 36.3 | 1962-04-30 | 3 | 41°40'N / 86°31'W | 41°42'N / 86°04'W | 23.10 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 49 | 250K | 0 | St. Joseph |
| 37.7 | 1980-06-28 | 2 | 41°40'N / 86°15'W | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | St. Joseph | |||
| 38.0 | 1956-04-03 | 5 | 42°40'N / 86°13'W | 42°46'N / 85°59'W | 13.50 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 10 | 25K | 0 | Allegan |
| 38.5 | 1954-05-31 | 2 | 42°32'N / 85°46'W | 0.30 Mile | 110 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Allegan | |
| 38.9 | 1958-05-31 | 2 | 41°40'N / 86°36'W | 1.00 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 2 | 25K | 0 | La Porte | |
| 39.5 | 1962-04-30 | 3 | 41°42'N / 86°04'W | 41°46'N / 85°49'W | 13.40 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Elkhart |
| 39.7 | 1980-05-13 | 3 | 42°18'N / 85°43'W | 42°17'N / 85°30'W | 10.60 Miles | 450 Yards | 5 | 79 | 25.0M | 0 | Kalamazoo |
| 39.7 | 2001-10-24 | 2 | 41°39'N / 86°08'W | 41°42'N / 86°01'W | 4.50 Miles | 1320 Yards | 0 | 0 | 1.3M | 0 | St. Joseph |
| 41.1 | 1967-10-24 | 2 | 42°38'N / 85°49'W | 0 | 4 | 25K | 0 | Allegan | |||
| 42.2 | 1974-06-20 | 2 | 42°44'N / 85°59'W | 42°42'N / 85°52'W | 5.70 Miles | 20 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Allegan |
| 42.5 | 1957-03-14 | 2 | 41°39'N / 86°44'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | La Porte | |||
| 42.6 | 1958-05-31 | 2 | 41°43'N / 86°53'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | La Porte | |||
| 43.2 | 1953-05-17 | 2 | 41°47'N / 85°46'W | 41°51'N / 85°40'W | 6.40 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | St. Joseph |
| 43.6 | 1965-04-11 | 4 | 41°35'N / 86°12'W | 41°37'N / 86°04'W | 6.90 Miles | 333 Yards | 0 | 27 | 0K | 0 | St. Joseph |
| 44.3 | 1980-07-05 | 2 | 41°43'N / 85°49'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Elkhart | |||
| 44.5 | 1976-03-12 | 3 | 41°41'N / 86°56'W | 41°37'N / 86°42'W | 12.60 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 7 | 250K | 0 | La Porte |
| 45.2 | 1965-04-11 | 3 | 41°35'N / 86°04'W | 41°38'N / 85°58'W | 5.60 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Elkhart |
| 45.2 | 1954-06-12 | 2 | 41°34'N / 86°11'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | St. Joseph | |||
| 45.5 | 1965-04-11 | 4 | 41°37'N / 86°04'W | 41°43'N / 85°40'W | 21.60 Miles | 333 Yards | 31 | 252 | 0K | 0 | Elkhart |
| 46.1 | 1976-03-12 | 3 | 41°42'N / 86°58'W | 41°41'N / 86°56'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Porter | ||
| 46.5 | 1956-04-03 | 3 | 42°32'N / 85°50'W | 42°45'N / 85°32'W | 21.20 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Ottawa |
| 46.7 | 1967-10-24 | 2 | 41°35'N / 86°01'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Elkhart | |||
| 47.3 | 2009-06-19 | 2 | 42°23'N / 85°30'W | 42°23'N / 85°28'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Kalamazoo |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: Several trees and large branches were knocked down across North 28th Street near the tornado touchdown. The most extensive damage was located approximately two-miles northwest of Richland south of E C Avenue. The roof was torn off a ranch-style house and completely destroyed with pieces of truss carried one-half mile. Insulation was found over one-mile away from the tornado damaged home. The back deck of the home was destroyed with a large piece of the deck thrown approximately 100 yards. All trees were snapped or uprooted around the house with two uprooted trees carried 30-40 feet. Nearly 1.8 miles northwest of Richland, about 50% of trees were snapped or uprooted with numerous branches down along the tree line. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Thunderstorms 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. In addition to the heavy rain, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes accompanied the thunderstorms. | |||||||||||
| 47.5 | 1965-04-11 | 3 | 41°29'N / 86°17'W | 41°35'N / 86°04'W | 12.90 Miles | 250 Yards | 3 | 27 | 25.0M | 0 | St. Joseph |
| 47.9 | 1965-04-11 | 4 | 41°31'N / 86°04'W | 41°42'N / 85°44'W | 21.20 Miles | 33 Yards | 31 | 252 | 0K | 0 | Elkhart |
| 48.1 | 1963-06-09 | 2 | 42°46'N / 85°49'W | 2.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Allegan | |
| 48.4 | 1960-05-21 | 2 | 41°34'N / 86°46'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | La Porte | |||
| 48.5 | 2001-10-24 | 2 | 41°26'N / 86°54'W | 41°40'N / 86°32'W | 33.00 Miles | 1760 Yards | 1 | 0 | 750K | 0 | La Porte |
| 49.7 | 2010-06-05 | 2 | 41°49'N / 85°41'W | 41°46'N / 85°29'W | 11.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 300K | 0K | St. Joseph |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A survey of damage across southern St. Joseph county was performed by NWS Personnel. The damage found indicates that a circulation touched down over an open field north of Miller Road and west of Blue School Road. The tornado initially struck two barns, destroying them and sending the debris several miles downwind. The tornado then picked up a trailer at a local Port-A-Jon business. It appears that a combination of the strong winds and the trailer striking one of the guy wires, resulted in a 350 foot cell tower being blown down into an adjacent tower, causing the failure of both (DI: FST DOD:2). The tornado then continued across mainly open fields, scouring a 200 yard wide area of corn, just to the east-southeast of the cell towers and several trees along its track. The final damage occurred at a residence where minor roof damage was done to a barn, as well as more focused tree damage and a center pivot irrigation system being flipped. The tornado reached a maximum of roughly 200 yards in width and was on the ground for over 10 miles. Maximum winds are estimated at around 125 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A warm front worked north towards lower Michigan during the evening hours of the 5th. Storms were initially slow to organize, but quickly intensified and became super cellular as they moved off Lake Michigan. A combination of tornadoes and micro bursts were found in surveys across Berrien, Cass and St. Joseph counties. | |||||||||||
| 49.9 | 1955-07-06 | 2 | 41°55'N / 85°29'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | St. Joseph | |||
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.