Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 4, 1994

Name: Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 4, 1994
Start: 1994-07-04T12:35
End: 1994-07-04T18:25
Location: Wisconsin

July 4, 1994 · 22 events in 12 counties and zones

17 thunderstorm wind, 5 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 17 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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: $6.6 million
Crop damage: $900,000
Events: 22

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

17 thunderstorm wind, 5 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Lafayette

When: July 4, 12:35 PM CST
Where: Lafayette County, Dickeyville
Rating: F1
Path length: 3 mi
Path width: 300 yd
Property damage: $500,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 42.630, -90.600

Thunderstorm Wind, Lafayette

When: July 4, 1:15 PM CST
Where: Lafayette County, South Wayne
Property damage: $500,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 42.661, -90.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tornado, Lafayette

When: July 4, 1:15 PM CST
Where: Lafayette County, Woodford
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $500,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 42.630, -89.850

Thunderstorm Wind, Green

When: July 4, 1:20 PM CST
Where: Green County, Jordan Center
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 42.680, -89.602 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Dane

When: July 4, 1:50 PM CST
Where: Dane County to Stoughton
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 43.067, -89.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Dane

When: July 4, 1:55 PM CST
Where: Dane County, McFarland
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 43.067, -89.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tornado, Sauk

When: July 4, 2:10 PM CST to 2:25 PM CST
Where: Sauk County, Prairie
Rating: F2
Path length: 8 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Property damage: $5.0 million
Crop damage: $500,000
Coordinates: 43.300, -89.750

Thunderstorm Wind, Jefferson

When: July 4, 2:20 PM CST
Where: Jefferson County, Jefferson
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 43.021, -88.776 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Juneau

When: July 4, 4:10 PM CST
Where: Juneau County, Mauston
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 43.924, -90.114 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Milwaukee

When: July 4, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Milwaukee County, River Hills
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 43.022, -87.929 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tornado, Waupaca

When: July 4, 4:49 PM CST
Where: Waupaca County, Fremont
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 25 yd
Coordinates: 44.270, -88.870

Thunderstorm Wind, Milwaukee

When: July 4, 4:51 PM CST
Where: Milwaukee County, Milwaukee
Measured: 67 kt (77 mph)
Coordinates: 43.022, -87.929 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Milwaukee

When: July 4, 4:55 PM CST
Where: Milwaukee County, Bayside
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 43.022, -87.929 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Milwaukee

When: July 4, 4:55 PM CST
Where: Milwaukee County, Fox Point
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 43.022, -87.929 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tornado, Dane

When: July 4, 4:55 PM CST
Where: Dane County, Oregon
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 25 yd
Coordinates: 42.950, -89.380

Thunderstorm Wind, Milwaukee

When: July 4, 4:55 PM CST
Where: Milwaukee County, Whitefish Bay
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 43.022, -87.929 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Manitowoc

When: July 4, 5:40 PM CST
Where: Manitowoc County, Whitelaw
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 44.091, -87.700 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Waukesha

When: July 4, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Waukesha County, Delafield
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates: 43.018, -88.304 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Waukesha

When: July 4, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Waukesha County, Oconomowoc
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 43.018, -88.304 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Winnebago

When: July 4, 6:05 PM CST
Where: Winnebago County, Oshkosh
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 44.069, -88.645 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Waukesha

When: July 4, 6:05 PM CST
Where: Waukesha County, Hartland
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 43.018, -88.304 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Washington

When: July 4, 6:25 PM CST
Where: Washington County, Hartland
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 43.369, -88.231 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A series of squall lines with severe thunderstorms produced five tornadoes and violent wind gusts to 77 mph. A tornado set down in Dickeyville (Grant County) and traveled three miles damaging five homes, two sheds, and two farms. Damage was about $200,000. A small tornado caused $100,000 damage to a house, two outbuildings and nine cars just southeast of Woodford (Lafayette County). A tornado skipped along an eight mile path starting two miles northwest of Prairie du Sac (Sauk County), moving northeast along Highway 78, crossing the Wisconsin River into Columbia County along Highway 188, then crossed back into Sauk County at Highway 113 and entered Merrimac. Damage was estimated at $760,000 to 60 homes in Merrimac, and to a fertilizer plant and Dairy Forage Center in Prairie du Sac. Tornadoes briefly touched down but caused no damage four miles west of Fremont (Waupaca County) and 1.5 miles north of Oregon (Dane County). The intense winds knocked down numerous trees and power lines and caused other property damage mainly to sheds and outbuildings.

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 1994 Every state in 1994 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Wisconsin, 1994 Warnings in Wisconsin, July 1994

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: 10358006, 10358007, 10358008, 10357938, 10357780, 10357781, 10357478, 10357891, 10357954, 10357513, 10357622, 10357514, 10357515, 10357516, 10357782, 10358040, 10357324, 10357587, 10357588, 10357555, 10357589, 10357552.