Tornado and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 20, 1987

Name: Tornado and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 20, 1987
Start: 1987-07-20T08:20
End: 1987-07-20T20:00
Location: Wisconsin

July 20, 1987 · NWS MKE · 46 events in 30 counties and zones

45 thunderstorm wind, 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $25,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 46

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

45 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Burnett

When: July 20, 8:20 AM CST
Where: Burnett County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 23 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 45.850, -92.070

Thunderstorm Wind, Barron

When: July 20, 8:42 AM CST
Where: Barron County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 45.480, -91.720

Thunderstorm Wind, Barron

When: July 20, 8:58 AM CST
Where: Barron County
Coordinates: 45.400, -91.850

Thunderstorm Wind, Barron

When: July 20, 9:11 AM CST
Where: Barron County
Coordinates: 45.300, -91.650

Thunderstorm Wind, Rusk

When: July 20, 9:30 AM CST
Where: Rusk County
Coordinates: 45.450, -91.280

Thunderstorm Wind, Oneida

When: July 20, 10:40 AM CST
Where: Oneida County
Coordinates: 45.870, -89.700

Thunderstorm Wind, Taylor

When: July 20, 10:45 AM CST
Where: Taylor County
Coordinates: 45.130, -90.370

Thunderstorm Wind, Oneida

When: July 20, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Oneida County
Coordinates: 45.800, -89.170

Thunderstorm Wind, Vilas

When: July 20, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Vilas County
Coordinates: 45.920, -89.250

Thunderstorm Wind, Lincoln

When: July 20, 11:20 AM CST
Where: Lincoln County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 45.180, -89.630

Thunderstorm Wind, Marathon

When: July 20, 11:25 AM CST
Where: Marathon County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 44.920, -89.830

Thunderstorm Wind, Outagamie

When: July 20, 11:30 AM CST
Where: Outagamie County
Coordinates: 44.520, -88.330

Thunderstorm Wind, Marathon

When: July 20, 11:42 AM CST
Where: Marathon County
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph)
Coordinates: 44.780, -89.700

Thunderstorm Wind, Langlade

When: July 20, 11:45 AM CST
Where: Langlade County
Coordinates: 45.150, -89.150

Thunderstorm Wind, Florence

When: July 20, 11:45 AM CST
Where: Florence County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 45.920, -88.250

Thunderstorm Wind, Shawano

When: July 20, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Shawano County
Coordinates: 44.950, -89.200

Thunderstorm Wind, Shawano

When: July 20, 12:40 PM CST
Where: Shawano County
Coordinates: 44.850, -88.780

Thunderstorm Wind, Portage

When: July 20, 12:40 PM CST
Where: Portage County
Coordinates: 44.520, -89.570

Thunderstorm Wind, Waupaca

When: July 20, 12:45 PM CST
Where: Waupaca County
Coordinates: 44.620, -88.750

Thunderstorm Wind, Portage

When: July 20, 12:50 PM CST
Where: Portage County
Coordinates: 44.450, -89.280

Thunderstorm Wind, Oconto

When: July 20, 12:53 PM CST
Where: Oconto County
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates: 44.930, -88.300

Thunderstorm Wind, Marinette

When: July 20, 12:55 PM CST
Where: Marinette County
Coordinates: 45.050, -87.750

Thunderstorm Wind, Waupaca

When: July 20, 1:00 PM CST
Where: Waupaca County
Coordinates: 44.320, -88.930

Thunderstorm Wind, Outagamie

When: July 20, 1:00 PM CST
Where: Outagamie County
Coordinates: 44.450, -88.570

Thunderstorm Wind, Outagamie

When: July 20, 1:00 PM CST
Where: Outagamie County
Coordinates: 44.380, -88.750

Thunderstorm Wind, Brown

When: July 20, 1:05 PM CST
Where: Brown County
Coordinates: 44.350, -88.050

Thunderstorm Wind, Door

When: July 20, 1:10 PM CST
Where: Door County
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Coordinates: 45.180, -87.120

Thunderstorm Wind, Outagamie

When: July 20, 1:15 PM CST
Where: Outagamie County
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates: 44.280, -88.270

Thunderstorm Wind, Winnebago

When: July 20, 1:40 PM CST
Where: Winnebago County
Coordinates: 44.020, -88.550

Thunderstorm Wind, Manitowoc

When: July 20, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Manitowoc County
Coordinates: 44.070, -87.880

Thunderstorm Wind, Calumet

When: July 20, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Calumet County
Coordinates: 44.180, -88.070

Thunderstorm Wind, Calumet

When: July 20, 2:10 PM CST
Where: Calumet County
Coordinates: 44.030, -88.170

Thunderstorm Wind, Wood

When: July 20, 2:40 PM CST
Where: Wood County
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Coordinates: 44.380, -90.120

Thunderstorm Wind, Adams

When: July 20, 2:45 PM CST
Where: Adams County
Coordinates: 43.950, -89.820

Thunderstorm Wind, Juneau

When: July 20, 2:48 PM CST
Where: Juneau County
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Coordinates: 44.030, -90.080

Thunderstorm Wind, Adams

When: July 20, 2:50 PM CST
Where: Adams County
Coordinates: 44.120, -89.950

Thunderstorm Wind, Wood

When: July 20, 2:50 PM CST
Where: Wood County
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Coordinates: 44.380, -89.820

Thunderstorm Wind, Juneau

When: July 20, 2:55 PM CST
Where: Juneau County
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Coordinates: 43.800, -90.080

Thunderstorm Wind, Sauk

When: July 20, 4:02 PM CST
Where: Sauk County
Coordinates: 43.470, -89.730

Thunderstorm Wind, Dodge

When: July 20, 4:03 PM CST
Where: Dodge County
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates: 43.530, -89.000

Thunderstorm Wind, Dane

When: July 20, 4:44 PM CST
Where: Dane County
Coordinates: 43.170, -89.780

Thunderstorm Wind, Dane

When: July 20, 4:55 PM CST
Where: Dane County
Coordinates: 42.920, -89.220

Thunderstorm Wind, Waukesha

When: July 20, 5:25 PM CST
Where: Waukesha County
Coordinates: 43.100, -88.400

Thunderstorm Wind, Rock

When: July 20, 5:48 PM CST
Where: Rock County
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates: 42.720, -89.020

Thunderstorm Wind, Rock

When: July 20, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Rock County
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates: 42.570, -88.870

Thunderstorm Wind, Pierce

When: July 20, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Pierce County
Coordinates: 44.750, -92.820

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.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Wisconsin in 1987 Every state in 1987 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Wisconsin, 1987 Warnings in Wisconsin, July 1987

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: 10159179, 10159180, 10159181, 10159182, 10159183, 10159184, 10159185, 10159186, 10159187, 10159188, 10159189, 10159190, 10159191, 10159192, 10159193, 10159194, 10159195, 10159196, 10159197, 10159198, 10159199, 10159200, 10159201, 10159202, 10159203, 10159204, 10159205, 10159206, 10159207, 10159208, 10159209, 10159210, 10159211, 10159212, 10159213, 10159214, 10159215, 10159216, 10159217, 10159218, and more.