Tornadoes · United States · Wisconsin

Tornadoes in Saint Croix County, Wisconsin

34 tornadoes have crossed Saint Croix County since 1950, 20th of the 72 counties in Wisconsin with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.2 years. They have killed 26 people and injured 125. 1 was rated F4 or EF4 and above, 1 at the top of the scale.

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
34
Deaths
26
Injuries
125
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F5, June 4, 1958

The deadliest in Saint Croix County

  1. F5 Colfax tornado, WisconsinJune 4, 195821 killed, 74 injured
  2. F2, Pierce, Saint Croix, Polk and Burnett counties, WisconsinMay 10, 19534 killed, 27 injured
  3. F2, Saint Croix and Dunn counties, WisconsinJuly 15, 19801 killed, 12 injured

The strongest

  1. F5 Colfax tornado, WisconsinJune 4, 1958F5, 33.7 mi (54 km)
  2. F3, Washington, Saint Croix, Pierce and Pepin counties, Minnesota and WisconsinMay 24, 1958F3, 59.4 mi (96 km)
  3. F3, Saint Croix, Polk and Barron counties, WisconsinJuly 30, 1977F3, 9.1 mi (15 km)
  4. F2, Pierce, Saint Croix, Polk and Burnett counties, WisconsinMay 10, 1953F2, 105.7 mi (170 km)
  5. EF2, Saint Croix County, WisconsinMay 15, 2025EF2, 3.9 mi (6 km)
  6. F2, Saint Croix County, WisconsinAugust 15, 1954F2, 3.0 mi (5 km)
  7. F2, Saint Croix County, WisconsinJune 12, 1976F2, 1.0 mi (2 km)
  8. F2, Saint Croix and Dunn counties, WisconsinJuly 15, 1980F2, 0.1 mi (0 km)
  9. F2, Saint Croix County, WisconsinOctober 9, 1958F2, 0.1 mi (0 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 24 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Saint Croix County. Each year links to every tornado in Wisconsin that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20251EF2
20241EF0
20211EF1
20101EF1
20095EF1
20081EF0
20061F0
20053F1
20001F0
19991F0
19941F1
19872F0
19841F0
19811F0
19801112F2
19771F3
19761F2
19711F1
19661F0
19641F1
19611F1
195842186F5
19541F2
19531427F2

Every tornado that crossed Saint Croix County

34 tornadoes, newest first. 2 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them under that state rather than Wisconsin.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 15, 20253:26 PM CDTEF2Saint Croix3.9120
August 29, 20246:30 PM CDTEF0Saint Croix1.750
July 28, 20219:48 PM CDTEF1Saint Croix5.7100$175,000
July 14, 201010:54 AM CDTEF1Saint Croix2.530$500,000
August 19, 20094:11 PM CDTEF0Saint Croix1.725
August 19, 20093:58 PM CDTEF0Saint Croix1.425
August 19, 20093:05 PM CDTEF0Saint Croix0.425$25,000
August 8, 200910:51 PM CDTEF0Saint Croix0.350$100,000
August 8, 200910:24 PM CDTEF1Saint Croix5.0450$500,000
May 25, 20085:15 PM CDTEF0Washington to WI1.350$300,000
September 23, 20062:34 PM CDTF0Saint Croix0.125
June 11, 20053:43 PM CDTF0Saint Croix0.525
June 11, 20053:04 PM CDTF1Saint Croix8.050$3.6 million
June 11, 20052:20 PM CDTF0Saint Croix0.325
July 26, 20001:02 PM CDTF0Saint Croix0.120
June 5, 19994:40 PM CDTF0Saint Croix0.550
May 30, 19945:35 PM CDTF1Saint Croix1.073$50,000 to $500,000
July 6, 19874:08 PM CDTF0Saint Croix0.123
May 29, 19873:53 PM CDTF0Saint Croix0.150
August 7, 19847:30 PM CDTF0Saint Croix0.127
July 24, 19816:35 PM CDTF0Saint Croix0.320$5,000 to $50,000
July 15, 19809:45 PM CDTF2Saint Croix0.110112$500,000 to $5 million
July 30, 19776:20 PM CDTF3Saint Croix9.1200$500,000 to $5 million
June 12, 19766:00 PM CDTF2Saint Croix1.0100$5,000 to $50,000
June 4, 19718:40 PM CDTF1Saint Croix3.8100$5,000 to $50,000
July 3, 19666:30 PM GMT-5F0Saint Croix3.020$5,000 to $50,000
July 28, 19648:00 AM GMT-5F1Saint Croix0.533$500 to $5,000
September 2, 196110:30 PM GMT-5F1Saint Croix5.410$500 to $5,000
October 9, 19581:00 PM GMT-5F2Saint Croix0.150$5,000 to $50,000
June 22, 19584:25 PM GMT-5F0Saint Croix0.117$50 to $500
June 4, 19586:30 PM GMT-5F5Colfax tornado33.78802174$5 million to $50 million
May 24, 19583:45 PM GMT-5F3Washington to WI59.45012$50,000 to $500,000
August 15, 19547:00 PM GMT-5F2Saint Croix3.0100$50,000 to $500,000
May 10, 19537:30 PM GMT-5F2Pierce105.7100427$500,000 to $5 million

Nearby

Warnings in force in Saint Croix CountyThe forecast for Saint Croix CountyThe live radar over Saint Croix 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.