Tornadoes and Hail in Wisconsin, April 21, 1974

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Wisconsin, April 21, 1974
Start: 1974-04-21T13:45
End: 1974-04-21T16:05
Location: Wisconsin

April 21, 1974 · 11 events in 8 counties and zones

7 tornado, 4 hail, 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: 2
Injuries: 53
Property damage: $15 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 11

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

7 tornado, 4 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Columbia

When: April 21, 1:45 PM CST
Where: Columbia County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 43.570, -89.480

Hail, Iowa

When: April 21, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Iowa County
Measured: 2 in hail
Coordinates: 43.170, -89.920

Hail, Dane

When: April 21, 2:28 PM CST
Where: Dane County
Measured: 2 in hail
Coordinates: 43.250, -89.480

Tornado, Fond du Lac

When: April 21, 2:40 PM CST
Where: Fond du Lac County
Rating: F4
Path length: 12.5 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 43.750, -88.830

Tornado, Winnebago

When: April 21, 2:50 PM CST
Where: Winnebago County
Rating: F4
Path length: 13.5 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Injuries: 35 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 43.900, -88.680

Tornado, Dodge

When: April 21, 3:00 PM CST
Where: Dodge County
Rating: F3
Path length: 22.2 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 43.550, -88.750

Tornado, Marinette

When: April 21, 3:25 PM CST
Where: Marinette County
Rating: F2
Path length: 2.7 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 45.280, -88.070

Tornado, Dodge

When: April 21, 3:30 PM CST
Where: Dodge County
Rating: F3
Path length: 18.6 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Injuries: 6 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 43.500, -88.750

Hail, Sheboygan

When: April 21, 3:30 PM CST
Where: Sheboygan County
Measured: 2 in hail
Coordinates: 43.800, -88.050

Tornado, Fond du Lac

When: April 21, 3:55 PM CST
Where: Fond du Lac County
Rating: F3
Path length: 11.9 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 43.600, -88.400

Tornado, Sheboygan

When: April 21, 4:05 PM CST
Where: Sheboygan County
Rating: F3
Path length: 28.1 mi
Path width: 200 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 7 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 43.650, -88.170

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, Fond du Lac	1974-04-21				Direct
Tornado, Sheboygan	1974-04-21				Direct

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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 1974 Every state in 1974 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Wisconsin, 1974

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: 10147949, 10147950, 10147951, 10147952, 10147953, 10147954, 10147955, 10147956, 10147957, 10147958, 10147959.