Tornadoes · United States · Wisconsin

Tornadoes in Lafayette County, Wisconsin

40 tornadoes have crossed Lafayette County since 1950, 2 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 11th of the 72 counties in Wisconsin with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.9 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 12. None was rated F4 or above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

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

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

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

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    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. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

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

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

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

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    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.

Now

Tornadoes
40
Deaths
0
Injuries
12
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, May 8, 1988

The strongest

  1. F3, Lafayette and Green counties, WisconsinApril 16, 1967F3, 27.8 mi (45 km)
  2. F3, Lafayette County, WisconsinMay 8, 1988F3, 16.0 mi (26 km)
  3. F2, Grant and Lafayette counties, WisconsinJune 4, 1969F2, 24.4 mi (39 km)
  4. F2, Lafayette County, WisconsinMay 15, 1998F2, 20.0 mi (32 km)
  5. F2, Grant and Lafayette counties, WisconsinSeptember 9, 1970F2, 15.7 mi (25 km)
  6. F2, Jo Daviess and Lafayette counties, Illinois and WisconsinSeptember 9, 1970F2, 14.3 mi (23 km)
  7. F2, Lafayette and Iowa counties, WisconsinJune 7, 1984F2, 11.0 mi (18 km)
  8. F2, Lafayette County, WisconsinJune 29, 1969F2, 10.4 mi (17 km)
  9. F2, Lafayette and Green counties, WisconsinSeptember 2, 1963F2, 9.9 mi (16 km)
  10. EF2, Lafayette and Green counties, WisconsinJune 22, 2024EF2, 6.9 mi (11 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 23 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Lafayette County. Each year links to every tornado in Wisconsin that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20262EF0
20242EF2
20232EF1
20182EF0
20142EF1
20101EF1
20093EF0
20072EF0
200311F1
20001F1
1998111F2
19941F1
19932F0
19882F3
19871F1
19842F2
19722F1
19712F1
19702F2
19692F2
19672F3
19632F2
19581F2

Every tornado that crossed Lafayette County

40 tornadoes, newest first. 1 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files it under that state rather than Wisconsin. The 2 at the top are this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and their ratings are marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 15, 202612:09 AM CDTEF0Lafayette7.350
June 17, 20267:16 PM CDTEF0Lafayette1.250
June 22, 20246:36 PM CDTEF2Lafayette6.9500$1.0 million
June 22, 20246:02 PM CDTEF0Lafayette5.675
March 31, 20236:55 PM CDTEF1Lafayette6.675$600,000
March 31, 20236:50 PM CDTEF1Lafayette5.575$1.0 million
June 26, 20182:24 PM CDTEF0Lafayette1.847$15,000
June 26, 201811:30 AM CDTEF0Lafayette0.540$1,000
June 16, 201411:00 PM CDTEF1Lafayette1.250$33,000
June 16, 201411:00 PM CDTEF1Lafayette4.3200$1.5 million
June 21, 20107:39 PM CDTEF1Lafayette2.275$15,000
July 27, 20098:10 PM CDTEF0Lafayette0.125
July 24, 20096:32 PM CDTEF0Lafayette4.250$50,000
July 24, 20095:12 PM CDTEF0Lafayette3.475$100,000
June 1, 20073:31 PM CDTEF0Lafayette0.230
June 1, 20073:17 PM CDTEF0Lafayette0.120
May 10, 20038:15 PM CDTF1Lafayette7.82001$200,000
June 1, 20006:02 PM CDTF1Lafayette0.570$100,000
May 15, 19987:45 PM CDTF2Lafayette20.015011$1.7 million
July 4, 19942:15 PM CDTF1Lafayette0.5100$50,000 to $500,000
June 26, 19935:55 PM CDTF0Lafayette0.123
June 19, 19935:39 PM CDTF0Lafayette0.123
May 8, 19884:10 PM CDTF1Lafayette9.0100$50,000 to $500,000
May 8, 19884:00 PM CDTF3Lafayette16.0123$50,000 to $500,000
August 16, 19875:50 PM CDTF1Lafayette0.150$50,000 to $500,000
July 10, 19847:05 PM CDTF0Lafayette0.127$5,000 to $50,000
June 7, 198412:30 AM CDTF2Lafayette11.040$50,000 to $500,000
September 28, 19724:30 PM CDTF1Lafayette0.150$500 to $5,000
September 20, 19722:58 PM CDTF1Lafayette1.0100$5,000 to $50,000
July 25, 19715:00 PM CDTF1Lafayette1.0100$5,000 to $50,000
June 1, 19714:45 PM CDTF1Lafayette23.6100$5,000 to $50,000
September 9, 19707:40 PM CDTF2Jo Daviess to WI14.370$5,000 to $50,000
September 9, 19706:15 PM CDTF2Grant15.7200$50,000 to $500,000
June 29, 19697:00 PM GMT-5F2Lafayette10.4200$50,000 to $500,000
June 4, 19692:45 PM GMT-5F2Grant24.4200$50,000 to $500,000
June 11, 19673:30 PM GMT-5F1Lafayette0.550$5,000 to $50,000
April 16, 19671:50 PM GMT-6F3Lafayette27.8500$500,000 to $5 million
September 2, 19637:30 PM GMT-5F1Green70.710$50,000 to $500,000
September 2, 19636:30 PM GMT-5F2Lafayette9.9100
May 31, 19583:30 PM GMT-5F2Lafayette1.310$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Lafayette CountyThe forecast for Lafayette CountyThe live radar over Lafayette CountyEvery county in 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.