Ingham County Emergency Management

06/01/2026

[MON 3:30PM] It has been a while since our last rain - and it will be a while... A chance of thunderstorms kicks in Fri/Sat, but even that doesn't look too wet.

In the meantime the dry ground, low humidity, abundant sun, and gusty winds are all the right (well, wrong) ingredients for brush fires.

Avoid any outdoor burning if you can over the next few days, and check first with your local fire department in any event.

05/28/2026

Thanks to Chief Weiss of Williamston Police Department for inviting us to their exercise yesterday!

We walked through the response to an incident at their summer jubilee.

We don't expect there to be a problem in the real world, but HOPE IS NOT A PLAN...

05/26/2026

Now that the holiday is done - how about some information on tornado safe rooms! FEMA offers grants to local homeowners to install one, and EMHSD is looking to see what sort of interest exists for pursuing that in our state.

Here's more information and see the website at https://www.michigan.gov/msp/divisions/emhsd/response-recovery-responsive/michigan-safe-room-rebate-program

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The Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division (MSP/EMHSD) is now accepting applications for the Michigan Safe Room Rebate Program designed to help eligible homeowners offset the cost of installing a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) compliant tornado safe room on their property.

Selected applicants who meet requirements may receive a rebate covering up to 75% of eligible costs associated with the installation and construction of a tornado safe room, with a maximum reimbursement of $7,131.75.

The proposed rebate program would be funded through the FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Grant Program. At this time, no funding has been awarded. The application process is being used to support Michigan’s application for the program.

Interested homeowners should complete an online application. Fifty applicants will be chosen through a random selection process, with an additional 100 applicants identified as alternates pending available funding.

Applicants must be residents of Michigan and own a permanent residence located in Michigan and will be grouped by FEMA risk categories to ensure geographic distribution across the state.

The rebate program is reimbursement-based, meaning homeowners must complete the installation and submit required documentation before receiving payment. Safe rooms installed prior to approval are not eligible for reimbursement.

Visit the Michigan Safe Room Rebate Program resource website to apply or learn more about program eligibility, requirements and rules

Information on carrying concealed pistols, permits, renewal, frequently asked questions, pistol free areas, pistol safety training course information, and more.

05/21/2026

After things settled down following Monday's storms, we've been doing a lot of exercising!

We spent Tuesday with MSU Police and Public Safety walking through the issues that would arise with a cyberattack impacting the MSU, and split the office yesterday.

One exercise tested plans with the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD) on what to do after a widespread severe weather event causes long-term power outages, and the other exercise tested plans with local energy providers on how to handle a long-term heat wave!

Each showed we're in pretty good shape overall, but also identified some areas that plans need some tweaking just to be safe...

05/19/2026

The outdoor warning sirens were triggered in Lansing yesterday - here's why:

There were several reports of winds higher than 70 miles per hour to our west as the line of storms approached. At 3pm the US National Weather Service Grand Rapids Michigan issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning with an expectation of winds reaching 80 miles per hour! We literally have tornadoes that come through with weaker winds, so it made sense to activate them in this case.

Plus if you happened to have a police scanner on when I made the call, you'd have heard the "tension" in my voice as this isn't a decision made lightly. I asked Ingham County 911 Central Dispatch to activate them once ONLY in Lansing / Lansing Township, and then waited to see how the storms actually acted. The worst of the winds moved on up into Clinton County so the sirens were not activated further.

I've attached some pictures of damage in the area.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS about outdoor warning (tornado) sirens:

1) What are they for?
Sirens are meant to alert people who are OUTDOORS that there is some sort of emergency that requires them to get into a safe space and seek out more information.

2) Why are they activated?
- A Tornado Warning from the National Weather Service
- A credible report of a tornado from a trained weather spotter
- Extreme straight line winds of 75mph or higher
- Also for events unrelated to weather, like a chemical leak

3) How long are they activated for?
The first alert is for 3 minutes. If we have not received confirmation of any damage or tornadoes, the sirens will go silent. THAT DOES NOT MEAN THE THREAT HAS ENDED!
If we have confirmation of damage or a tornado ongoing, the sirens will REPEATEDLY be reactivated.

4) Is there an "all clear" siren activation?
NEVER. If you hear a siren, we want people to take cover!

5) Why are mine still sounding even after the storm has passed?
We break the county up into four sectors and group the sirens that way. As the storm passes, we stop alerting that sector, but simply because of geography, if you are on campus at MSU (the northwest sector) your sirens are attached to Meridian Township's so you will still hear them even though the threat has passed. But if the storm is in Stockbridge, Lansing - East Lansing - Meridian - Holt sirens would remain silent.

6) How do I know why the sirens are being activated?
LAYERS SAVE LIVES! Invest in an all-hazards NOAA Weather Radio. They are $30-50 depending on the features and can be enabled just to alert you for Ingham County. Sign up for our free Smart911/RAVE service https://www.smart911.com/smart911/ref/reg.action?pa=ingham which will send emails, text messages, phone calls and app alerts for emergency situations in the county. Make sure you have NOT accidentally disabled emergency alerts in your phone, as the National Weather Service automatically sends one for extreme weather events.

7) When are they tested?
If anything goes wrong at a siren, it sends us a signal and the status icon changes colors. Three times a day the system automatically radios each siren and gets a status report just in case there is a communications issue, and also changes the color if no response is received. The first Saturday of every month we sound all sirens for three minutes, just like in a real alert, at 1pm to fully test the system.

8 ) Why isn't there a siren in my area?
The county had a siren study done to show us where the highest population density exists and where sirens would alert the greatest number of people. They are VERY expensive to install, and costly to maintain - in more rural areas it would be cheaper to get everyone a weather radio than to install just one siren (and they have an effective range of about a mile.) And as noted above, a siren won't do you any good inside while sleeping with the windows closed...

05/18/2026

5PM FINAL REPORT: The rain has ended and skies are clearing! About 6000 customers remain without power this evening, but storms are done.

If you have any damage reports feel free to post them here.

There is another chance tomorrow but still some question whether the threat is more in our area or southeast Michigan. Follow updates here starting in the morning!

05/18/2026

{NEWER POSTS ABOVE}

4PM UPDATE: The worst of the winds are near the Livingston / Ingham county line, so locations on the west side of the county are just getting normal showers and thunderstorms. Pockets of damage to trees and power lines have been reported, especially in the north part of the county including Lansing.

USE CAUTION if you are headed out soon - some roads are blocked as a result.

05/18/2026

{THIS STORM HAS MOVED EAST}

3PM TAKE SHELTER NOW IN LANSING AND THE NORTHERN/WESTERN part of Ingham County due to extreme winds expected in the next half hour.

05/18/2026

{THIS IS AN OLD POST}

[MON 1PM] It's a hot one today! The heat and humidity are combining to bring us the chance for a line of strong storms to move through around 3:30-4:30pm this afternoon...

This activity has a history of damaging winds and torrential rain in the Chicago area causing near-zero visibility, along with frequent deadly lightning. Continue to closely monitor the sky (and this page) for updates through the day.

Once the line moves out around 5-6pm then we're done for the day.

05/18/2026

{UPDATED POST ABOVE}

[MON 8:30AM] Since we skipped spring and went right to summer, you'll feel the humidity build today! As temperatures climb into the 80s, the chance of thunderstorms will be on the rise as well.

A line of storms is expected to move through from 2-5pm with the potential for some strong winds in them. If we time it just right, we'll clear back out afterwards and make for an enjoyable evening at least!

Here's a rough idea of what the weather radar could look like around 3pm.

In the meantime keep an eye on the clouds early this afternoon and watch for future updates.