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Howard City, Michigan

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Reynolds Township. It lies in ZIP code area 49329. The Survey maps it on the Howard City quadrangle. 1,835 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 889 feet above sea level.

Howard City within Montcalm County

Population over time

2 figures

Howard City grew from 1,808 to 1,835 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20101,808
20201,835+27 (+1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 13 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

8 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 8 fires within 5 miles of Howard City between 2005 and 2019, burning about 23 acres in total. 2 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Equipment and vehicle use2
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2
Natural2
Recreation and ceremony1
Debris and open burning1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
8 May 2006Recreation and ceremony7.5 acresHuron-Manistee National ForestCABIN FIRE
6 April 2019Natural1.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesLAKEVIEW DISTRICT FD 0000061 - 2019
4 April 2019Equipment and vehicle use10 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesMAPLE VALLEY TWP FIRE DEPARTMENT 2019019 - 2019
22 April 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesMORLEY AREA FD 2019034 - 2019
21 April 2007Debris and open burning1.0 acresHuron-Manistee National ForestNEWCOSTA RD
20 April 2019Natural1.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesLAKEVIEW DISTRICT FD 0000065 - 2019
13 April 2005Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreHuron-Manistee National ForestMOWER FIRE
17 March 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMichigan Department of Natural ResourcesMAPLE VALLEY TWP FIRE DEPARTMENT 0000011 - 2018

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Montcalm County

Storms near this place

11 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Howard City in 11 storm reports between 1997 and 2021: 8 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 flood. The reports record 23 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 1998Thunderstorm WindHoward City23 hurt, $14,000,000Michigan State Police EMD's Damage and Injury Assessment Report indicated $453,000 in public damage costs, 23 injuries, 6 individuals being sheltered, 400 homes damaged, 30 homes destroyed, 40 businesses damaged, and 50 vacation residences either damaged or destroyed. Private property damage was estimated around $13.5 Million. Most severe damage was reported in Pierson and Maple Valley Townships in the western panhandle of the county, with several cottages destroyed and damaged near and around Cody Lake and other area lakes. Significant damage was also reported in and around the city of Stanton. A team from the Michigan National Guard was deployed to the city of Stanton to assist in debris removal and cleanup operations. Montcalm County declared a local state of emergency and was granted a Governor's disaster declaration to activate state assistance for the county. On June 24th, President Clinton granted a Major Disaster Declaration for Montcalm County, making federal disaster assistance available.
April 2013FloodHoward City$3,000,000Heavy rain caused significant flooding on rivers and streams across Montcalm county.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindHoward City$50,000Numerous reports of downed trees in and near Howard City and the northern portion of Montcalm county came in from Montcalm county dispatch.
October 2019Thunderstorm WindHoward City$25,000An isolated severe storm produced high winds that blew several six to eight inch diameter trees down onto a barn near Howard City. Evergreen township was particularly hard hit with numerous trees down. Over seven thousand people in Montcalm county lost power.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindHoward City$20,000A tree and several power lines were downed by gusty thunderstorm winds near Howard City. Power lines were also downed near Amble, and marble sized hail was observed as well.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindHoward City$10,000A 74 mph wind gust was measured and there was a report of tree damage.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindHoward City$10,000Trained spotters reported that several trees were blown down.
August 2015HailHoward City$5,000The broadcast media reported that hail of up to an inch and a quarter in diameter was observed just north of Howard City.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindHoward City$5,000Several trees were blown down in Howard City.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindHoward City$2,500Several trees were downed in a trailer park in Howard City.
January 2008HailHoward City-An amateur radio operator reported one inch diameter hail 3 miles west of Howard City.

Every storm recorded in Montcalm County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Maple Hill2.1 miles12
Hiram3.6 miles12
Coral4.1 miles12
Amble4.9 miles13
Pierson5.5 miles12
Trufant8.2 miles12
Lakeview10.8 miles13
Langston13.1 miles11

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Howard CityAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2540083The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1620259. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.