Kent County tornado history

44 tornadoes touched Kent County, Michigan between 1950 and 2025 — about 0.6 a year. The strongest was rated F5 (Apr 3, 1956). Tornadoes here killed 22 and injured 491 people.

44tornadoes since 1950

F5strongest rating

22killed · 491 injured

60.6 milongest path · 1956

(E)F0(E)F1(E)F2(E)F3(E)F4(E)F5· dots = start point only

By rating

(E)F016

(E)F119

(E)F25

(E)F32

(E)F41

(E)F51

By month

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: April.

By decade

’50’60’70’80’90’00’10’20

Strongest tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width	Injured	Killed
Apr 3, 1956	F5	58.8 mi	400 yd	292	17
Apr 11, 1965	F4	20.6 mi	300 yd	142	5
Apr 3, 1956	F3	60.6 mi	200 yd	12	0
Apr 21, 1967	F3	13.6 mi	400 yd	32	0
Aug 5, 1968	F2	52.7 mi	50 yd	0	0
Sep 22, 1961	F2	2.7 mi	2,000 yd	1	0
May 20, 1975	F2	2.3 mi	10 yd	1	0
Sep 9, 1968	F2	1 mi	33 yd	1	0
Apr 21, 1967	F2	0.3 mi	27 yd	0	0
May 15, 2025	EF1	14.9 mi	100 yd	0	0
Aug 24, 2023	EF1	8.7 mi	100 yd	0	0
Sep 14, 1990	F1	7 mi	30 yd	0	0

Most recent tornadoes

Date	Rating	Path	Width
May 15, 2025	EF1	14.9 mi	100 yd
Mar 30, 2025	EF0	4.2 mi	150 yd
Mar 30, 2025	EF1	1.7 mi	250 yd
Mar 30, 2025	EF0	2.4 mi	300 yd
Mar 30, 2025	EF0	5 mi	150 yd
Aug 24, 2023	EF1	8.7 mi	100 yd
Jun 26, 2021	EF0	0.6 mi	50 yd
Apr 10, 2021	EF0	0.6 mi	65 yd
Sep 11, 2019	EF0	0.1 mi	25 yd
Apr 10, 2017	EF1	5.3 mi	220 yd
Aug 20, 2016	EF0	4.3 mi	75 yd
Aug 20, 2016	EF0	0.9 mi	50 yd

Deadliest: Apr 3, 1956, F5, 17 killed.

Nearby counties

Ionia County, MI27 Montcalm County, MI12 Barry County, MI21 Ottawa County, MI24 Newaygo County, MI14 Mecosta County, MI12 Eaton County, MI26 Clinton County, MI19

Questions

How many tornadoes has Kent County, Michigan had?

44 tornadoes touched Kent County, Michigan between 1950 and 2025 in the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database — about 0.6 per year.

What was the strongest tornado in Kent County?

The strongest rating recorded was F5 on Apr 3, 1956, with a 58.8-mile path and 17 deaths.

When is tornado season in Kent County?

Most of its tornadoes happened in April (9 of 44). Tornadoes can occur in any month, so keep alerts on year-round.

Right now: live tornado warnings map · alerts for your location. Dates link to that day’s full storm reports where available (2004 onward).