Storm risk in Kent County, Michigan

FEMA rates Kent County Relatively Moderate for natural-hazard risk overall, 246th of 3,144 rated counties. For a roof the three that matter are hail (Relatively Moderate), strong wind (Very High) and tornado (Relatively High). NOAA logged 18 hail reports here from 2014 to June 2026.

FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026. Planning-level county ratings.

Kent County: FEMA National Risk Index scores for overall risk, hail, strong wind and tornado, each on a scale of 0 to 100Overall riskOverall risk: score 92.2, Relatively Moderate, 246th of 3,144 rated counties92Relatively Moderate, 246th of 3,144HailHail: score 73.4, Relatively Moderate, 836th of 3,126 rated counties73Relatively Moderate, 836th of 3,126Strong windStrong wind: score 99.0, Very High, 31st of 3,121 rated counties99Very High, 31st of 3,121TornadoTornado: score 97.8, Relatively High, 71st of 3,144 rated counties98Relatively High, 71st of 3,144

Each dot is the county’s score from 0 to 100 against all rated U.S. counties; the bar colour is FEMA’s rating band.

Hazard by hazard

HazardRatingScore (0 to 100)Rank in U.S.Rank in MIExpected yearly loss
OverallRelatively Moderate 92.22464 of 83$109,623,808buildings
HailRelatively Moderate 73.483628 of 83$762,932buildings
Strong windVery High 99.0313 of 83$3,933,012buildings
TornadoRelatively High 97.8715 of 83$27,886,387all exposure

Rank 1 is the highest score. Expected annual loss is a county total in dollars per year, not a figure per home; the overall, hail and wind rows count buildings only, the tornado row all exposure.

Kent County in plain numbers

  • FEMA's overall rating for Kent County is Relatively Moderate, score 92.2 of 100, 246th of 3,144 rated counties.
  • Hail: Relatively Moderate (score 73.4), 836th nationwide and 28th of 83 counties in Michigan.
  • Expected yearly hail loss to buildings: $762,932 for the whole county, about $5.56 per $1 million of building value.
  • NRI's hail record averages 1.6 hail events a year in the county.
  • Strong wind: Very High (score 99.0), 31st nationwide; expected yearly loss to buildings $3,933,012, about $28.68 per $1 million of building value.
  • Tornado: Relatively High (score 97.8), 71st nationwide; total expected yearly loss $27,886,387.
  • Buildings in the county are valued at 137.1 billion dollars in the index; population 657,870.
  • Social vulnerability is rated Very Low and community resilience Very High.
  • NOAA logged 18 hail reports in Kent County from 2014 to June 2026; hail of 1 inch or more fell on 12 days and the largest stone was 1.75 inches.
  • 1 of our cities is in the county: Grand Rapids.
  • 27 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have more than half of their land area in Kent County.
  • Our guide range for a 2,000 sq ft asphalt roof in Grand Rapids is $6,510 to $14,415.
  • NOAA lists 15 tornado tracks in the county since 2014.

Where large hail was reported

FEMA scores the county as a whole. NOAA’s storm reports show where inside it the big stones fell.

Reported hail locations, Kent County

1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1.5 in hail1.5 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail Grand Rapids
  • 121 to 1.74 in
  • 31.75 to 2.74 in, golf ball to tennis ball
  • 02.75 in and up, baseball

Largest plotted stone: 1.75 in. Bigger dots are bigger stones.

15 reports of 1 inch or larger have coordinates. Each dot is a reported location, not a storm path.

Sources: NOAA, Census county outline

Cities and ZIP areas in Kent County

1 city in this county is on PickARoofer. ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are Census shapes that approximate ZIP codes; where we have a city’s ZIPs, the share is the part of each area’s land that lies in this county. 27 such areas have more than half their land here.

CityZIP areas (share of land in the county)Pages
Grand Rapids 49503 (100%), 49508 (100%), 49512 (100%), 49504 (100%) Roofers

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Questions

How high is storm risk in Kent County?

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Kent County Relatively Moderate overall. By peril: hail Relatively Moderate, strong wind Very High, tornado Relatively High. The highest-scoring of the three for this county is strong wind (score 99.0).

How many hail reports has NOAA logged in Kent County?

18 reports between 2014 and June 2026 in NOAA's Storm Events Database. A report is one entry for one storm in one county, so counts follow where people live as well as where hail fell.

What does expected annual loss mean?

It is FEMA's estimate of the average yearly loss from a hazard, in dollars, summed over the county. It is a county total, not a figure per home, and it is built for comparing counties, not for pricing one house.

Does a high rating mean my roof will be damaged?

No. The index compares counties at planning level. It cannot say what will happen on your street. After a storm, a roof inspection is the only way to know.

How does Kent County compare with the rest of Michigan?

For hail it ranks 28th of 83 rated counties in the state; for strong wind 3rd of 83; for tornado 5th of 83.

Other Michigan counties

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026; NOAA Storm Events Database; Census Bureau ZCTA-to-county relationship file (2020). This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s). Planning-level information, not an inspection and not insurance advice.