Tornadoes in Wisconsin, May 10, 1953

Name: Tornadoes in Wisconsin, May 10, 1953
Start: 1953-05-10T18:30
End: 1953-05-10T19:55
Location: Wisconsin

May 10, 1953 · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

8 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 4
Injuries: 32
Property damage: $20 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 8

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

8 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Pierce

When: May 10, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Pierce County
Rating: F2
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 44.830, -92.670

Tornado, Buffalo

When: May 10, 6:30 PM CST
Where: Buffalo County
Rating: F4
Path length: 36.4 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 44.200, -91.850

Tornado, St. Croix

When: May 10, 6:35 PM CST
Where: St. Croix County
Rating: F2
Path length: 28.3 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 9 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 44.850, -92.650

Tornado, Eau Claire

When: May 10, 6:55 PM CST
Where: Eau Claire County
Rating: F4
Path length: 23.4 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Injuries: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 44.600, -91.370

Tornado, Polk

When: May 10, 7:10 PM CST
Where: Polk County
Rating: F2
Path length: 31.6 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Deaths: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 9 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 45.220, -92.380

Tornado, Chippewa

When: May 10, 7:20 PM CST
Where: Chippewa County
Rating: F4
Path length: 53.9 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 44.870, -91.070

Tornado, Burnett

When: May 10, 7:35 PM CST
Where: Burnett County
Rating: F2
Path length: 18.2 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 9 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 45.650, -92.170

Tornado, Washburn

When: May 10, 7:55 PM CST
Where: Washburn County
Rating: F2
Path length: 27.6 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 45.900, -92.030

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tornado, St. Croix	1953-05-10				Direct
Tornado, Burnett	1953-05-10				Direct

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Wisconsin in 1953 Every state in 1953 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Wisconsin, 1953

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10146815, 10146816, 10146817, 10146818, 10146819, 10147666, 10147667, 10147668.