High Wind in Wisconsin

Events

550

Deaths

9

Injuries

27

Damage

$24 million

• High Wind in Wisconsin, November 10 to 11, 19984 deaths · 14 injured · $12 million · 20 eventsScreaming 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,…
• Blizzard and Winter Storm in Wisconsin, February 23 to 24, 20191 death · 71 injured · 52 kt wind · 28 eventsA fierce, late-winter storm produced heavy snow, freezing rain, and high winds across much of central and northern Wisconsin on February 23-24 as an area of low pressure rapidly deepened across the Great Lakes.
• High Wind and Strong Wind in Wisconsin, November 12 to 13, 20032 deaths · $2,000 · 68 kt wind · 4 eventsStrong winds developed across northern Wisconsin in the wake of a rapidly intensifying low pressure system that moved across Wisconsin and northern Lake Michigan.
• High Wind in Wisconsin, November 10, 19981 death · 2 injured · $1.7 million · 81 kt wind · 13 eventsDamaging winds associated with an intense low pressure knocked down power lines, trees, buildings, signs and left many without power. A 75 foot flag pole on Grandad Bluff near La Crosse was sheared off, while winds gusted to 93 mph at the nearby National Weather Service.
• High Wind in Wisconsin, November 10, 19981 death · 1 injured · $1.0 million · 63 kt wind · 22 eventsAn intense area of low pressure moved across the Midwest on November 10, producing very high winds, rain and snow across the region.
• High Wind in Wisconsin, April 6, 19971 death · $149,000 · 22 eventsA strong cold front ushered in wind gusts over 50 mph across much of northeast Wisconsin. Winds were measured as high as 54 mph in Green Bay (Brown county), 58 mph west of Appleton (Outagamie county) and 63 mph at the Outagamie county airport in Appleton.
• Blizzard and Winter Storm in Wisconsin, December 11 to 13, 20101 death · $50,000 · 61 kt wind · 32 eventsA strong winter storm produced heavy snow and blizzard conditions across parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota on December 11-12, 2010. A widespread snowfall of 8 to 14 inches along with frequent wind gusts over 40 mph affected much of northeast and central Wisconsin.
• High Wind in Wisconsin, April 6, 19971 death · $120,000 · 62 kt wind · 1 eventStrong gradient winds, enhanced by scattered snow showers (transfer of higher level momentum downward to surface by mixing), resulted in scattered damage reports. In Sun Prairie, the high winds, measured at 66 mph, blew open a glass door in a restaurant.
• High Wind and Strong Wind in Wisconsin, February 20 to 21, 20141 death · $3,000 · 4 eventsA rapidly deepening low pressure area moved north through Wisconsin with strong west to northwest winds in its wake. The strong winds began with the passage of the occluded front during the evening of February 20th.
• Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Wisconsin, July 24, 2009$14 million · EF0 · 8 eventsA cold front crossed Wisconsin during the late afternoon and evening hours of July 24th. Large scale lift and deep layer wind shear associated with upper level low pressure moving into the region led to the development of supercell thunderstorms in southwest Wisconsin.
• High Wind in Wisconsin, October 26 to 27, 20102 injured · $1.0 million · 55 kt wind · 20 eventsLong-duration, widespread, southwesterly high winds raked south-central and southeast Wisconsin for about 36 hours, resulting numerous reports of felled trees, broken tree branches, downed power-lines, and damage to structures and vehicles.
• Damaging Winds and High Wind in Wisconsin, July 19 to 21, 2017$771,000 · 61 kt wind · 14 eventsA surge of warm, moist, and unstable air aloft brought large thunderstorm complexes across southern WI during the evening of July 19th into the early morning hours of July 20th.
• High Wind and Strong Wind in Wisconsin, March 8, 20171 injured · $335,000 · 56 kt wind · 20 eventsStrong damaging winds occurred due to a very deep low pressure area that affected the Upper Mississippi River Valley and Great Lakes region.
• High Wind and Strong Wind in Wisconsin, March 12 to 13, 2026$445,000 · 59 kt wind · 20 eventsStrong low pressure tracked east across northern WI to Lake Huron. Westerly wind gusts of 50-68 mph were recorded. Numerous branches down and some power lines. Power outages in the tens of thousands mainly over southeast WI.
• High Wind in Wisconsin, April 7, 2001$1.0 million · 53 kt wind · 2 eventsA strong surface low pressure system moved out of the southwestern US and into north central Minnesota by the early afternoon on the 7th. This system produced numerous wind gusts in the 55 to 60 mph range across portions of west central Wisconsin.
• High Wind in Wisconsin, February 19, 2016$555,000 · 55 kt wind · 10 eventsStrong low pressure moved across Northern Wisconsin and swept an occluded front across Southern WI in the late morning and afternoon hours. Strong westerly wind gusts of 58 to 65 mph occurred over Southeast WI and far Southern WI.
• High Wind in Wisconsin, October 26 to 27, 2010$267,000 · 69 kt wind · 24 eventsAn area of low pressure moved into the Midwest on October 25th, rapidly intensified as it moved northward through Minnesota on October 26th, and tracked northeast through Lake Superior into Southeast Ontario on October 27th.
• Flood and Lakeshore Flood in Wisconsin, April 28 to 29, 2020$555,000 · 50 kt wind · 7 eventsA strong low pressure system tracking through the southern Great Lakes caused gusty northeast winds across east-central and northeast Wisconsin, which caused some isolated damage and widespread lakeshore flooding in Brown and Oconto counties.
• High Wind in Wisconsin, December 15 to 16, 2021$375,000 · 59 kt wind · 13 eventsFollowing behind the rare December severe weather outbreak, very strong winds buffeted western Wisconsin from the late evening of December 15th into the morning of the 16th. Wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph were common with a few gusts over 60 mph.
• Flooding and Hail in Wisconsin, June 3, 2002$321,000 · 58 kt wind · 16 eventsThree lines of severe thundrestorms moved east-southeast across south-central and southeast Wisconsin. The last line was the strongest of the three. Damaging, straightline winds were the most common type of severe weather, althought some large hail stones were spotted.
• High Wind in Wisconsin, April 6, 19972 injured · $300,000 · 67 kt wind · 1 eventStrong gradient winds, enhanced by higher gusts associated with scattered rain and snow showers, periodically resulted in wind damage reports across Kenosha county.
• High Wind in Wisconsin, October 26 to 27, 20101 injured · $203,000 · 61 kt wind · 13 eventsA low pressure system deepened over northern Minnesota and set the Wisconsin state record for the lowest recorded barometric pressure.
• High Wind in Wisconsin, October 23, 2007$500,000 · 56 kt wind · 1 eventA strong cold front pushed across Wisconsin during the early evening of October 23, generating conditions favorable for brief but strong wind gusts. Gusts of 40 to 64 mph were reported across central and east-central Wisconsin.
• High Wind and Strong Wind in Wisconsin, March 16, 2016$151,000 · 53 kt wind · 20 eventsStrong low pressure tracked from Central WI to the eastern portion of Upper MI. Strong westerly wind gusts occurred as the low moved to the northeast. Many tree limbs or whole trees were brought down with some snapped or uprooted.
• High Wind in Wisconsin, December 15 to 16, 2021$144,000 · 59 kt wind · 20 eventsAn unusually strong low pressure area tracking to the west and north of WI, generated frequent wind gusts of 45-65 mph. Scattered tree limbs and shallow rooted trees were brought down by the winds across southern WI. Some of the trees landed on homes and power lines.

High Wind everywhereEvery kind of event in Wisconsin

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.