Wisconsin, 1979

Tornado and Hail in Wisconsin, May 18, 1979

May 18, 1979 · NWS NG · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

5 hail, 1 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
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$3,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
6

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

5 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Fond du Lac

When
May 18, 12:15 PM CST
Where
Fond du Lac County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
43.800, -88.450

Hail, Kewaunee

When
May 18, 12:25 PM CST
Where
Kewaunee County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
44.650, -87.750

Hail, Dane

When
May 18, 1:00 PM CST
Where
Dane County
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
43.070, -89.420

Hail, Ozaukee

When
May 18, 2:27 PM CST
Where
Ozaukee County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
43.280, -87.980

Hail, Milwaukee

When
May 18, 3:08 PM CST
Where
Milwaukee County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
43.170, -87.880

Tornado, Adams

When
May 18, 4:45 PM CST
Where
Adams County
Rating
F1
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
33 yd
Property damage
$3,000
Coordinates
43.670, -89.630

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

More

Every storm in Wisconsin in 1979Every state in 1979This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Wisconsin, 1979

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: 10146104, 10146105, 10146106, 10146107, 10146108, 10146109.