Storm Records: Wisconsin
Every storm the National Weather Service has filed in Wisconsin: its floods, heat, cold, winter storms, hail, wind, lightning and tornadoes, year by year and county by county, each episode with its narrative.
The worst in Wisconsin on the map
The deadliest and costliest episodes on record here, colored by kind of event.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 46,400
- Deaths
- 550
- Injuries
- 3,354
- Damage
- $5.1 billion
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.
Every year
Tap a year for every episode in it.
Deaths each year
By kind of event
| Kind of event | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 13,005 | 20 | 254 | $366 million |
| Hail | 9,265 | 1 | 43 | $1.1 billion |
| Winter Storm | 3,692 | 40 | 142 | $7.6 million |
| Winter Weather | 3,682 | 80 | 509 | $18 million |
| Heavy Snow | 2,143 | 5 | 24 | $585,000 |
| Tornado | 1,820 | 98 | 1,646 | $1.1 billion |
| Dense Fog | 1,612 | 29 | 63 | $262,000 |
| Flood | 1,464 | 16 | 7 | $713 million |
| Drought | 1,433 | 0 | 1 | $5.6 million |
| Strong Wind | 1,179 | 13 | 12 | $4.0 million |
| Flash Flood | 1,070 | 14 | 21 | $1.6 billion |
| Cold/Wind Chill | 1,012 | 91 | 40 | $161,000 |
| Heat | 900 | 41 | 326 | |
| Extreme Cold/Wind Chill | 675 | 8 | 4 | $32,000 |
| Lightning | 662 | 23 | 128 | $74 million |
| Heavy Rain | 570 | 7 | 7 | $2.1 million |
| High Wind | 550 | 9 | 27 | $24 million |
| Funnel Cloud | 430 | 0 | 0 | |
| Excessive Heat | 341 | 18 | 48 | $76,000 |
| Ice Storm | 313 | 1 | 15 | $767,000 |
| Blizzard | 302 | 7 | 17 | $594,000 |
| Lake-Effect Snow | 105 | 5 | 10 | |
| Frost/Freeze | 49 | 0 | 0 | $253,000 |
| Lakeshore Flood | 46 | 0 | 2 | $19 million |
| Wildfire | 31 | 4 | 6 | $2.2 million |
| Rip Current | 16 | 17 | 2 | |
| Waterspout | 11 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dust Devil | 9 | 0 | 0 | $4,000 |
| Seiche | 8 | 0 | 0 | $6,000 |
| High Surf | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| Dust Storm | 1 | 0 | 0 | $300,000 |
| Debris Flow | 1 | 0 | 0 | $1,000 |
The deadliest
- Tornadoes in Wisconsin, June 4, 1958
- Dense Fog in Wisconsin, October 11, 2002Shallow dense fog developed over parts of Sheboygan and Ozaukee counties during the overnight hours, and persisted to about 0830CST.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Wisconsin, April 3, 1956
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, June 7, 1984
- Excessive Heat in Wisconsin, July 2 to 6, 2012A hot air mass settled over southern Wisconsin to start the month of July, bringing 100-degree heat to many locations for multiple days between July 2nd and July 6th.
- Heat in Wisconsin, July 29 to 31, 1999The most intense heat wave since the killer heat wave of July 13-14, 1995, struck southcentral and southeast Wisconsin at the end of July, 1999.
- Tornadoes in Wisconsin, September 26, 1951
- Winter Storm in Wisconsin, March 28 to 29, 2009Strong low pressure tracked northeast from southeast Missouri to southeast Lower Michigan during the night of March 28th into the morning of March 29th. Maximum snowfall totals of 6 to 8 inches were recorded over Racine, Kenosha, and far southern Milwaukee counties.
- Cold in Wisconsin, December 25 to 31, 2017Bitterly cold air and wind chill temperatures prevailed over southern WI from Christmas Day through January 6th. Wind chill temperatures of 20 below to 34 below zero occurred at times with low temperatures below zero for most nights.
- Heat in Wisconsin, July 2 to 7, 2012Five people died from the effects of a long duration heatwave that gripped western Wisconsin from July 2nd through July 7th. Two of the deaths occurred in La Crosse County with one each in Juneau, Richland and Vernon Counties.
- Lake-Effect Snow and Winter Weather in Wisconsin, March 12 to 14, 2017A significant lake effect snowstorm occurred over eastern WI with snowfall totals of 1 to 2 feet. Hundreds of vehicles were involved in accidents and slide-offs including several large chain-reaction accidents on I-41 and I-43 on March 13th.
- Winter Weather in Wisconsin, February 3 to 4, 2018A long duration period of relatively mild and moist air moving into the region, followed by a low pressure area and cold front resulted in several inches of snow accumulation. |The long duration snow resulted in 4 to 8 inches of accumulation over much of southern WI.
- Tornadoes in Wisconsin, May 10, 1953
- High Wind in Wisconsin, November 10 to 11, 1998Screaming high winds raked all of southcentral and southeast Wisconsin's counties for about 17 hours, resulting in widespread damage to thousands of trees, homes, businesses, power poles, power lines, street lights, road signs, billboards, fences, flagpoles, barns, sheds, crops,…
- Winter Weather in Wisconsin, December 24, 2008Yet another low pressure system moving from the Southern Plains to Lower Michigan dumped light to moderate snow amounts across south-central and southeast Wisconsin.
- Cold in Wisconsin, February 1 to 4, 1996The episode of extreme cold, which started in late January, 1996, continued through the first four days of February across Southcentral and Southeast Wisconsin.
- Heat in Wisconsin, August 6 to 9, 2001This excessive heat episode was the third, and longest, of the 2001 summer in south-central and southeast Wisconsin. Daytime heat indices reached 105 to 110, and stayed above 80 at night. Maximum air temperatures were in the lower to mid 90s, while dewpoints were in the mid 70s.
- Winter Storm in Wisconsin, December 1 to 2, 2007The first major winter storm of the 2007-08 winter season affected all of south-central and southeast Wisconsin with a mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain.
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Wisconsin, January 18 to 20, 2019Strong low pressure moving across the Ohio River Valley spread a swath of moderate to heavy snow across southern WI. Lake effect snow contributed to the heavy snow accumulations near Lake MI. Many vehicle slide-offs and accidents occurred especially in the Milwaukee metro area.
- Extreme Cold and Cold in Wisconsin, January 12 to 17, 2024Brisk westerly winds following the passage of strong low pressure brought an arctic air mass to southern Wisconsin. Several days and nights of dangerous wind chill temperatures were observed. Warming centers were opened in many cities and some schools were delayed or cancelled.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Wisconsin, April 27, 1984
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, April 4, 1981
- Tornadoes and Hail in Wisconsin, July 15, 1980
- Tornadoes and Hail in Wisconsin, April 11, 1965
- Tornadoes in Wisconsin, June 25, 1950
The costliest
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Wisconsin, June 25 to 26, 2006
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, June 8 to 9, 2008
- Flooding in Wisconsin, June 1 to 30, 2004
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Wisconsin, August 9 to 13, 2025
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, April 13, 2006
- Tornado and Hail in Wisconsin, May 12, 2000
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Wisconsin, August 27 to 31, 2018
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Wisconsin, June 12 to 13, 2008
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Wisconsin, August 18 to 31, 2007
- Tornadoes in Wisconsin, June 4, 1958
- Flash Flood in Wisconsin, June 21, 1997
- Tornadoes and Hail in Wisconsin, April 27, 1984
- Tornadoes and Hail in Wisconsin, June 7, 2007
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strikes in Wisconsin, May 31, 1998
- Flooding in Wisconsin, June 16 to 20, 1996
- Tornadoes and Hail in Wisconsin, June 8, 1985
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Wisconsin, June 7 to 17, 2008
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Wisconsin, June 12, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, June 2, 2020
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, August 13, 2007
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Wisconsin, July 19 to 27, 2017
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Wisconsin, June 1, 2000
- Tornado in Wisconsin, July 18, 1996
- Flash Flood in Wisconsin, August 6, 1998
- Flash Flooding in Wisconsin, August 6 to 7, 1998
Counties
Every storm event filed in each county, including the zone-filed ones that covered it.
- Adams County477
- Ashland County492
- Barron County558
- Bayfield County586
- Brown County609
- Buffalo County511
- Burnett County482
- Calumet County431
- Chippewa County581
- Clark County652
- Columbia County928
- Crawford County537
- Dane County1,787
- Dodge County1,084
- Door County446
- Douglas County548
- Dunn County504
- Eau Claire County450
- Florence County265
- Fond du Lac County873
- Forest County365
- Grant County1,007
- Green County872
- Green Lake County606
- Iowa County812
- Iron County441
- Jackson County568
- Jefferson County1,097
- Juneau County553
- Kenosha County830
- Kewaunee County302
- La Crosse County838
- Lafayette County771
- Langlade County409
- Lincoln County482
- Manitowoc County458
- Marathon County882
- Marinette County584
- Marquette County619
- Menominee County214
- Milwaukee County1,113
- Monroe County686
- Oconto County520
- Oneida County590
- Outagamie County649
- Ozaukee County670
- Pepin County260
- Pierce County481
- Polk County520
- Portage County521
- Price County508
- Racine County917
- Richland County399
- Rock County1,215
- Rusk County324
- Saint Croix County573
- Sauk County940
- Sawyer County559
- Shawano County462
- Sheboygan County734
- Taylor County446
- Trempealeau County749
- Vernon County758
- Vilas County565
- Walworth County1,038
- Washburn County417
- Washington County882
- Waukesha County1,260
- Waupaca County533
- Waushara County433
- Winnebago County591
- Wood County541
Counties and zones as filed
The places filed most often, as the offices named them.
| County or zone | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dane | 1,316 | 9 | 80 | $343 million |
| Grant | 839 | 2 | 13 | $99 million |
| Waukesha | 789 | 5 | 47 | $279 million |
| Rock | 743 | 1 | 21 | $107 million |
| La Crosse | 672 | 0 | 20 | $125 million |
| Marathon | 652 | 0 | 25 | $54 million |
| Jefferson | 634 | 4 | 53 | $172 million |
| Dodge | 629 | 1 | 58 | $82 million |
| Milwaukee | 599 | 5 | 187 | $334 million |
| Vernon | 588 | 5 | 6 | $153 million |
| Trempealeau | 579 | 5 | 16 | $45 million |
| Walworth | 575 | 0 | 41 | $35 million |
| Milwaukee zone | 514 | 102 | 256 | $14 million |
| Monroe | 513 | 0 | 8 | $72 million |
| Columbia | 507 | 1 | 59 | $594 million |
| Sauk | 504 | 1 | 22 | $81 million |
| Clark | 496 | 5 | 12 | $20 million |
| Kenosha zone | 487 | 18 | 27 | $18 million |
| Racine zone | 483 | 13 | 15 | $30 million |
| Outagamie | 477 | 1 | 18 | $60 million |
| Rock zone | 472 | 13 | 78 | $25 million |
| Dane zone | 471 | 21 | 262 | $22 million |
| Waukesha zone | 471 | 4 | 4 | $9.3 million |
| Washington zone | 463 | 10 | 55 | $14 million |
| Jefferson zone | 463 | 11 | 19 | $34 million |
| Walworth zone | 463 | 4 | 2 | $30 million |
| Green zone | 458 | 2 | 9 | $8.2 million |
| Sheboygan zone | 455 | 17 | 24 | $33 million |
| Dodge zone | 455 | 8 | 16 | $36 million |
| Fond du Lac | 445 | 3 | 26 | $107 million |
| Ozaukee zone | 445 | 4 | 2 | $16 million |
| Chippewa | 444 | 6 | 119 | $46 million |
| Sauk zone | 436 | 7 | 17 | $14 million |
| Racine | 434 | 2 | 25 | $50 million |
| Iowa zone | 430 | 2 | 5 | $2.9 million |
| St. Croix | 429 | 5 | 48 | $104 million |
| Fond du Lac zone | 428 | 12 | 60 | $71 million |
| Barron | 422 | 2 | 50 | $56 million |
| Columbia zone | 421 | 12 | 24 | $26 million |
| Jackson | 419 | 2 | 14 | $16 million |
| Washington | 419 | 6 | 63 | $74 million |
| Lafayette zone | 418 | 2 | 6 | $2.5 million |
| Winnebago | 416 | 3 | 63 | $66 million |
| Green | 414 | 0 | 46 | $55 million |
| Brown | 402 | 1 | 8 | $10 million |
| Juneau | 397 | 3 | 42 | $55 million |
| Sawyer | 386 | 2 | 7 | $1.6 million |
| Iowa | 382 | 9 | 206 | $43 million |
| Crawford | 382 | 1 | 11 | $64 million |
| Green Lake zone | 380 | 1 | 0 | $19 million |
| Marquette zone | 377 | 2 | 0 | $12 million |
| Polk | 375 | 4 | 18 | $16 million |
| Waupaca | 360 | 6 | 14 | $9.4 million |
| Oneida | 357 | 6 | 40 | $55 million |
| Wood | 357 | 0 | 32 | $76 million |
| Dunn | 354 | 23 | 85 | $65 million |
| Lafayette | 353 | 0 | 13 | $40 million |
| Buffalo | 351 | 0 | 9 | $29 million |
| Price | 347 | 0 | 29 | $29 million |
| Kenosha | 343 | 2 | 33 | $85 million |
| Pierce | 336 | 0 | 6 | $36 million |
| Portage | 334 | 2 | 5 | $11 million |
| Adams | 328 | 0 | 27 | $19 million |
| Iron zone | 327 | 2 | 3 | $1.3 million |
| Burnett | 326 | 4 | 25 | $13 million |
| Bayfield | 326 | 3 | 10 | $6.5 million |
| Eau Claire | 323 | 7 | 24 | $24 million |
| Vilas | 316 | 2 | 6 | $30 million |
| Douglas | 309 | 0 | 0 | $25 million |
| Taylor | 294 | 1 | 3 | $6.9 million |
| Shawano | 289 | 0 | 4 | $6.8 million |
| Lincoln | 287 | 0 | 10 | $13 million |
| Ashland zone | 283 | 3 | 0 | $197,000 |
| Calumet | 282 | 2 | 9 | $50 million |
| Sheboygan | 279 | 1 | 11 | $50 million |
| Manitowoc | 277 | 0 | 33 | $90 million |
| Marinette | 276 | 4 | 10 | $9.7 million |
| Waushara | 270 | 2 | 36 | $98 million |
| Richland | 268 | 1 | 9 | $34 million |
| Washburn | 262 | 1 | 0 | $3.5 million |
| Bayfield zone | 260 | 3 | 0 | $21,000 |
| Door | 254 | 1 | 11 | $15 million |
| Vilas zone | 249 | 2 | 0 | $24,000 |
| Oconto | 247 | 2 | 10 | $17 million |
| Marquette | 242 | 0 | 2 | $20 million |
| Douglas zone | 239 | 2 | 0 | $1.3 million |
| Oneida zone | 233 | 0 | 0 | $133,000 |
| Marathon zone | 230 | 2 | 5 | $16 million |
| Green Lake | 226 | 8 | 58 | $23 million |
| Ozaukee | 225 | 1 | 40 | $28 million |
| Ashland | 209 | 2 | 3 | $601,000 |
| Brown zone | 207 | 7 | 16 | $1.6 million |
| Langlade | 206 | 1 | 5 | $6.9 million |
| Rusk | 202 | 0 | 35 | $28 million |
| Forest zone | 200 | 0 | 0 | $19,000 |
| Langlade zone | 200 | 0 | 0 | $1.1 million |
| Lincoln zone | 195 | 0 | 0 | $34,000 |
| Door zone | 192 | 2 | 1 | $405,000 |
| Portage zone | 187 | 1 | 0 | $329,000 |
| Wood zone | 184 | 1 | 0 | $38,000 |
| Florence zone | 183 | 2 | 0 | $2,000 |
| Manitowoc zone | 181 | 4 | 0 | $3.1 million |
| Winnebago zone | 175 | 4 | 73 | $1.1 million |
| Sawyer zone | 173 | 3 | 0 | $206,000 |
| Monroe zone | 173 | 8 | 54 | $984,000 |
| Shawano zone | 173 | 0 | 7 | $26 million |
| Waupaca zone | 173 | 0 | 0 | $37,000 |
| Outagamie zone | 172 | 2 | 17 | $27 million |
| Trempealeau zone | 170 | 6 | 18 | $833,000 |
| Vernon zone | 170 | 8 | 6 | $2.2 million |
| Grant zone | 168 | 1 | 4 | $4.9 million |
| La Crosse zone | 166 | 7 | 58 | $5.4 million |
| Forest | 165 | 0 | 3 | $6.0 million |
| Waushara zone | 163 | 0 | 0 | $20 million |
| Price zone | 161 | 0 | 0 | $56,000 |
| Buffalo zone | 160 | 1 | 1 | $1.1 million |
| Burnett zone | 156 | 0 | 0 | $101,000 |
| Clark zone | 156 | 4 | 14 | $519,000 |
| Juneau zone | 156 | 5 | 28 | $639,000 |
| Washburn zone | 155 | 0 | 2 | $1,000 |
| Crawford zone | 155 | 2 | 1 | $4.5 million |
| Kewaunee | 152 | 0 | 4 | $1.5 million |
| Taylor zone | 152 | 2 | 2 | $386,000 |
| Kewaunee zone | 150 | 1 | 0 | $784,000 |
| Dunn zone | 149 | 2 | 1 | $50,000 |
| Jackson zone | 149 | 2 | 22 | $809,000 |
| Calumet zone | 149 | 1 | 0 | $69,000 |
| Adams zone | 149 | 3 | 13 | $1.9 million |
| Northern Marinette zone | 148 | 2 | 8 | $7,000 |
| Polk zone | 145 | 0 | 0 | $30,000 |
| Pierce zone | 145 | 0 | 0 | $1.0 million |
| St. Croix zone | 144 | 2 | 3 | $250,000 |
| Menominee zone | 143 | 0 | 0 | $6,000 |
| Chippewa zone | 137 | 2 | 0 | $25,000 |
| Barron zone | 136 | 4 | 1 | |
| Pepin | 135 | 0 | 6 | $9.6 million |
| Northern Oconto zone | 132 | 0 | 0 | |
| Richland zone | 131 | 1 | 0 | $240,000 |
| Eau Claire zone | 127 | 1 | 8 | $3.6 million |
| Pepin zone | 125 | 0 | 0 | $11 million |
| Rusk zone | 122 | 0 | 1 | $5,000 |
| Iron | 114 | 1 | 6 | $1.5 million |
| Southern Marinette zone | 110 | 1 | 0 | $447,000 |
| Southern Oconto zone | 98 | 0 | 0 | $191,000 |
| Florence | 82 | 0 | 0 | $2.1 million |
| Menominee (C) | 67 | 2 | 8 | $5.8 million |
| Marinette zone | 50 | 0 | 0 | $134,000 |
| Oconto zone | 43 | 0 | 0 | $22,000 |
| 33 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Menominee | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Every year
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- 1977
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- 1955
- 1954
- 1953
- 1952
- 1951
- 1950
More
Every tornado in WisconsinEvery warning in Wisconsin since 1986River gauges in WisconsinEvery state
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.