Tornadoes · United States · Wisconsin

2005 tornadoes in Wisconsin

63 tornadoes touched down in Wisconsin in 2005, 200 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 1 people and injured 27.

2004 2006 The whole country in 2005

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mph

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Every tornado in Wisconsin in 2005

March 30 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 302:10 PM CSTF0Dane0.250$2,000

May 6 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 64:24 PM CDTF0Calumet2.550
May 64:29 PM CDTF0Fond du Lac0.250

June 4 10 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 42:54 PM CDTF0Waushara0.275
June 43:05 PM CDTF0Waushara0.150
June 44:27 PM CDTF1Clark17.050$600,000
June 44:27 PM CDTF0Marathon1.275
June 44:39 PM CDTF0Marathon1.3100
June 45:17 PM CDTF0Taylor0.220$30,000
June 46:06 PM CDTF0Marathon0.125
June 46:20 PM CDTF0Marathon0.125
June 48:18 PM CDTF0Marathon0.125
June 48:27 PM CDTF0Taylor0.325$10,000

June 5 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 54:05 PM CDTF0Price0.120

June 7 4 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 74:44 PM CDTF0Barron1.025
June 74:58 PM CDTF0Barron2.025
June 75:48 PM CDTF0Burnett0.120
June 76:10 PM CDTF0Chippewa5.550

June 9 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 96:40 PM CDTF0Winnebago3.040
June 97:14 PM CDTF0Calumet0.125

June 10 6 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 102:03 PM CDTF0Marathon0.120
June 104:05 PM CDTF0Winnebago0.120
June 104:10 PM CDTF0Waupaca0.120
June 108:10 PM CDTF0Winnebago0.120
June 108:22 PM CDTF0Winnebago0.120
June 108:48 PM CDTF0Winnebago0.120

June 11 6 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 112:20 PM CDTF0Saint Croix0.325
June 112:40 PM CDTF0Polk2.550
June 112:55 PM CDTF0Pierce1.025
June 113:00 PM CDTF1Barron5.050
June 113:04 PM CDTF1Saint Croix8.050$3.6 million
June 113:43 PM CDTF0Saint Croix0.525

June 13 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 133:49 PM CDTF0Outagamie0.275$1,000

July 25 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 254:07 PM CDTF1Rock2.050$300,000

August 18 27 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 182:18 PM CDTF0Trempealeau0.125$2,000
August 183:46 PM CDTF1Vernon1.2251$150,000
August 184:05 PM CDTF2Vernon20.0403$3.3 million
August 184:40 PM CDTF1Richland4.055$200,000
August 184:54 PM CDTF1Monroe10.025$140,000
August 184:55 PM CDTF0Iowa0.125
August 185:18 PM CDTF1Iowa6.5100$20,000
August 185:30 PM CDTF1Sauk1.975$2,000
August 185:33 PM CDTF2Sauk14.5200$610,000
August 185:39 PM CDTF1Adams0.830$10,000
August 186:00 PM CDTF0Sauk1.075$10,000
August 186:08 PM CDTF1Marquette5.5100$100,000
August 186:10 PM CDTF0Columbia0.125
August 186:15 PM CDTF3Dane18.6600123$34 million
August 186:17 PM CDTF0Dane2.030
August 186:32 PM CDTF0Waushara2.080$10,000
August 187:10 PM CDTF1Dane1.6100$70,000
August 187:15 PM CDTF0Jefferson0.550$50,000
August 187:20 PM CDTF1Jefferson0.750$30,000
August 187:27 PM CDTF1Jefferson1.250$30,000
August 187:37 PM CDTF1Jefferson1.450$350,000
August 187:38 PM CDTF0Waupaca1.240$1,000
August 187:40 PM CDTF0Winnebago4.050$1,000
August 187:44 PM CDTF1Jefferson3.075$20,000
August 187:45 PM CDTF0Jefferson0.250$10,000
August 188:45 PM CDTF1Brown1.0100$10,000
August 189:35 PM CDTF1Manitowoc1.5100$10,000

September 13 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 133:17 PM CDTF1La Crosse2.065$10,000
September 136:09 PM CDTF0Brown1.950$10,000

Nearby

Every tornado in Wisconsin since 1950Warnings in force in WisconsinThe live radar over Wisconsin

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.