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Wisconsin

The recorded hazard history of every county in Wisconsin: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, and National Flood Insurance Program claims since 1978.

Wisconsin has 46,362 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950 across 72 counties, led by damaging wind: 85.6 per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally.

NCEI attributes 530 deaths and 3,352 injuries to those events, with property damage estimated at $4.1B. By events per 100 square miles the leading counties are Milwaukee, Kenosha and Ozaukee.

FEMA lists 56 disaster declarations touching the state since 1953, most recently Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding (30 Jun 2026). NFIP policyholders filed 9,522 flood claims since 1978, $143M paid; 8,929 residential policies are in force.

1,624events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

46,362events since 195085.6 per 100 sq mi (US 56.0)

56disaster declarations since 1953last 30 Jun 2026

9,522NFIP flood claims$143M paid

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026; declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Compared with the United States

Measure	Wisconsin	US
Recorded events since 1950	46,362	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	85.6	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	78.6	59.6
Deaths recorded by NCEI	530	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$4.1B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	1.6	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$20K	$43K
Residential flood policies in force	8,929	3,139,862

Hazard mix

Wind14,734

Winter10,237

Hail9,265

Flood2,580

Tornado1,820

Cold1,736

Fog1,612

Drought1,433

Heat1,241

Other1,011

Lightning662

Wildfire31

Hazard	Events	Share of US	Deaths
■ Wind	14,734	2.1%	42
■ Winter	10,237	3.6%	138
■ Hail	9,265	2.2%	1
■ Flood	2,580	1.4%	30
■ Tornado	1,820	2.2%	98
■ Cold	1,736	3.2%	99
■ Fog	1,612	8.8%	29
■ Drought	1,433	1.7%	—
■ Heat	1,241	2.2%	59
■ Other	1,011	2.2%	7
■ Lightning	662	3.7%	23
■ Wildfire	31	0.3%	4

Events by decade

Hail: 32Tornado: 118Wind: 38

Hail: 166Tornado: 209Wind: 251

Hail: 206Tornado: 221Wind: 482

Hail: 431Tornado: 268Wind: 1486

Hail: 1067Tornado: 162Flood: 277Wind: 2728Winter: 1143Heat: 260Cold: 245Drought: 22Wildfire: 1Lightning: 221Fog: 209Other: 82

Hail: 3062Tornado: 290Flood: 701Wind: 3659Winter: 3075Heat: 314Cold: 527Drought: 671Wildfire: 11Lightning: 270Fog: 1082Other: 381

Hail: 2403Tornado: 287Flood: 1148Wind: 3917Winter: 3466Heat: 425Cold: 541Drought: 360Wildfire: 10Lightning: 143Fog: 314Other: 425

Hail: 1898Tornado: 265Flood: 454Wind: 2173Winter: 2553Heat: 242Cold: 423Drought: 380Wildfire: 9Lightning: 28Fog: 7Other: 123

1881950s6261960s9091970s2,1851980s6,4171990s14,0432000s13,4392010s8,5552020s

Recorded events in Wisconsin by decade and hazard group, including events recorded by forecast zone. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Counties by events per 100 square miles

County	Events	Last 12 mo	Per 100 sq mi	Per 10k residents	Dominant	Tornadoes	Hail	Declarations	NFIP claims	NRI risk
Milwaukee County	1,108	36	458.8	11.9	Wind	19	212	22	2,435	Relatively High
Kenosha County	826	23	303.9	49.0	Wind	13	74	16	334	Relatively Moderate
Ozaukee County	666	20	285.8	72.0	Winter	4	71	13	352	Relatively Low
Racine County	911	34	273.9	46.3	Wind	27	122	17	179	Relatively Moderate
Waukesha County	1,260	42	229.2	30.8	Wind	40	260	19	462	Relatively Moderate
Washington County	882	29	204.8	64.3	Wind	19	139	14	78	Relatively Low
Jefferson County	1,097	39	197.1	129.1	Wind	51	176	14	503	Relatively Low
Walworth County	1,038	39	186.9	97.2	Wind	45	135	13	46	Relatively Low
La Crosse County	838	18	185.5	69.6	Wind	20	224	18	215	Relatively Low
Green Lake County	606	20	173.4	315.1	Winter	33	72	9	53	Relatively Low
Rock County	1,215	53	169.2	73.9	Wind	38	174	16	305	Relatively Moderate
Dane County	1,787	123	149.4	31.7	Hail	76	555	19	333	Relatively Moderate
Green County	872	25	149.3	235.8	Wind	31	94	17	36	Relatively Low
Sheboygan County	734	22	143.5	62.3	Winter	10	69	11	52	Relatively Low
Marquette County	619	23	135.8	392.0	Winter	25	75	9	33	Relatively Low
Winnebago County	586	16	134.8	34.1	Wind	31	143	12	215	Relatively Moderate
Calumet County	428	11	134.5	81.5	Wind	24	95	11	24	Very Low
Dodge County	1,084	43	123.8	121.4	Wind	70	199	13	46	Relatively Low
Lafayette County	771	25	121.7	459.4	Wind	36	80	14	61	Very Low
Fond du Lac County	873	25	121.3	83.7	Wind	57	99	12	523	Relatively Low
Columbia County	928	26	121.2	158.7	Wind	39	138	11	179	Relatively Moderate
Brown County	608	30	114.7	22.6	Wind	30	129	9	383	Relatively Moderate
Sauk County	940	28	113.0	143.1	Wind	24	147	15	198	Relatively Low
Pepin County	260	20	112.1	353.1	Winter	7	44	13	75	Very Low
Iowa County	812	41	106.5	341.8	Wind	35	102	17	25	Very Low
Trempealeau County	749	25	102.2	243.8	Wind	28	207	15	141	Relatively Low
Outagamie County	649	17	101.8	33.9	Wind	34	182	11	86	Relatively Low
Vernon County	758	23	95.8	245.2	Wind	25	151	23	178	Relatively Low
Crawford County	537	8	94.1	334.1	Wind	15	94	22	235	Relatively Low
Door County	440	20	91.3	144.9	Wind	10	83	6	65	Relatively Low
Kewaunee County	302	8	88.2	147.0	Wind	9	50	8	20	Very Low
Grant County	1,007	47	87.8	193.2	Wind	56	253	20	85	Relatively Low
Pierce County	481	21	83.8	112.9	Wind	27	129	13	126	Very Low
St. Croix County	573	23	79.3	60.3	Hail	34	182	11	74	Relatively Low
Manitowoc County	458	10	77.7	56.2	Wind	22	69	9	35	Relatively Low
Monroe County	686	19	76.1	148.5	Wind	27	196	15	97	Relatively Low
Buffalo County	511	22	75.6	384.2	Wind	21	138	16	29	Very Low
Adams County	477	14	73.9	228.5	Wind	17	109	12	32	Relatively Low
Juneau County	553	23	72.1	206.3	Wind	27	141	16	114	Relatively Low
Waupaca County	533	16	71.3	103.4	Wind	25	117	11	145	Relatively Low
Eau Claire County	450	23	70.5	42.3	Wind	24	130	9	58	Relatively Low
Waushara County	433	12	69.2	174.4	Wind	25	78	10	24	Relatively Low
Wood County	541	15	68.2	73.0	Wind	19	139	13	48	Relatively Low
Richland County	399	7	68.1	231.8	Wind	13	88	19	95	Relatively Low
Vilas County	565	12	65.9	240.2	Wind	15	116	6	0	Relatively Low
Portage County	521	15	65.1	73.9	Wind	25	110	12	22	Relatively Low
Barron County	558	11	64.7	119.4	Wind	41	173	10	10	Relatively Low
Menominee County	214	7	59.8	499.0	Winter	5	11	7	0	Very Low
Dunn County	504	19	59.3	110.7	Wind	24	132	13	9	Relatively Low
Burnett County	482	17	58.7	287.9	Hail	15	150	10	36	Relatively Low
Iron County	440	8	58.0	712.2	Winter	6	40	12	2	Very Low
Chippewa County	581	18	57.6	86.9	Wind	35	144	11	46	Relatively Low
Jackson County	568	24	57.5	268.9	Wind	20	125	14	29	Relatively Low
Marathon County	882	50	57.1	64.1	Wind	63	235	12	69	Relatively Moderate
Polk County	520	19	56.9	114.5	Wind	34	112	10	15	Relatively Low
Lincoln County	482	11	54.9	168.9	Wind	26	91	9	3	Relatively Low
Florence County	265	9	54.3	577.0	Winter	5	26	6	1	Relatively Low
Clark County	652	20	53.9	187.6	Wind	44	159	15	35	Relatively Low
Oneida County	590	13	53.0	154.2	Wind	22	142	9	4	Relatively Low
Washburn County	417	29	52.3	248.9	Hail	8	125	10	24	Very Low
Shawano County	462	15	51.7	113.1	Wind	28	68	8	12	Relatively Low
Langlade County	409	10	47.0	209.7	Wind	8	58	8	17	Relatively Low
Ashland County	490	15	46.9	304.2	Winter	11	73	14	11	Very Low
Taylor County	446	10	45.7	223.9	Wind	11	109	8	0	Very Low
Sawyer County	559	17	44.4	305.5	Wind	8	174	9	8	Relatively Low
Douglas County	548	16	42.0	124.0	Wind	12	107	10	21	Relatively Low
Price County	508	11	40.5	361.6	Hail	25	164	8	6	Very Low
Bayfield County	586	18	39.7	359.1	Winter	5	110	12	16	Very Low
Forest County	365	8	36.0	394.3	Winter	7	61	7	3	Relatively Low
Rusk County	324	9	35.5	229.4	Wind	16	77	12	10	Very Low
Oconto County	290	5	29.1	73.7	Wind	15	86	6	132	Relatively Low
Marinette County	326	8	23.3	77.9	Wind	24	109	7	22	Relatively Low

Events are county-recorded plus zone-recorded events whose zone is named for the county. NRI risk is FEMA's National Risk Index overall rating (December 2025).

Counties by flood claims per 100 policies in force

County	Claims, last 10 years	Policies in force	Claims per 100 policies	Claims since 1978	Paid
Sauk County	84	111	75.7	198	$7.2M
Waupaca County	79	138	57.2	145	$2.4M
Oconto County	53	105	50.5	132	$1.0M
Kenosha County	96	204	47.1	334	$5.2M
Columbia County	52	138	37.7	179	$2.5M
Fond du Lac County	128	415	30.8	523	$7.4M
Milwaukee County	314	1,063	29.5	2,435	$29M
Brown County	131	452	29.0	383	$2.3M
Outagamie County	46	165	27.9	86	$2.0M
Walworth County	26	112	23.2	46	$647K
Door County	32	143	22.4	65	$598K
Waukesha County	122	594	20.5	462	$9.4M
Ozaukee County	65	362	18.0	352	$3.9M
Rock County	36	221	16.3	305	$4.4M
Dane County	115	713	16.1	333	$8.7M

Counties with at least 100 residential policies in force. Claims by year of loss in the ten years to 2026, divided by residential policies in force as of 3 Aug 2026; a rough ratio, since policies in force today differ from those in force when the losses occurred.

Federal disaster declarations by year

195319902026

Declarations touching Wisconsin by year declared, 1953 to 2026; each disaster number counted once.

Incident type	Declarations
Flood	21
Severe Storm	20
Tornado	6
Snowstorm	4
Biological	2
Hurricane	1
Fire	1
Drought	1

Most recent declarations (each disaster number once, with the number of counties designated):

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Counties
30 Jun 2026	DR-4923	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding	21
11 Sep 2025	DR-4892	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, And Mudslides	3
4 Apr 2020	DR-4520	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	73
13 Mar 2020	EM-3454	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	72
11 Mar 2020	DR-4477	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Winter Storm And Flooding	3
27 Aug 2019	DR-4459	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	18
18 Oct 2018	DR-4402	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, And Landslides	14
10 Aug 2018	DR-4383	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	6
7 Oct 2017	DR-4343	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, And Mud	11
20 Oct 2016	DR-4288	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides	10
9 Aug 2016	DR-4276	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	8
8 Aug 2013	DR-4141	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding, And Mudslides	8
2 Aug 2012	DR-4076	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	3
5 Apr 2011	DR-1966	Major disaster	Snowstorm	Severe Winter Storm And Snowstorm	11
21 Oct 2010	DR-1944	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	9

Flood insurance claims by year

197820022026

NFIP claims in Wisconsin by year of loss, 1978 to 2026.

9,522 claims, 7,215 paid, $143M in total; 694 repetitive-loss and 43 severe repetitive-loss properties. ZIP codes in Wisconsin with flood claims (263).

Year by year

Each year's events, declarations and claims: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · and earlier years back to 1950

Questions and answers

Which Wisconsin counties have the most recorded tornadoes?

Dane (76), Dodge (70) and Marathon (63), by NCEI count since 1950. Larger counties record more events; the state table also ranks by events per 100 square miles.

Which Wisconsin counties have the most flood insurance claims?

Milwaukee (2,435), Fond du Lac (523) and Jefferson (503) since 1978, in the OpenFEMA NFIP claims file.

How many federal disaster declarations has Wisconsin had?

56 declarations since 1953 (major disaster, emergency and fire management assistance declarations combined), 1 of them in 2026 so far.

How does Wisconsin compare with the national rate?

85.6 recorded events per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally; 1.6 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.1.

Provenance

NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 refreshed 29 Sep 2026; OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026); FEMA National Risk Index December 2025; US Census Bureau 2021 population and area. Built 30 Sep 2026. Methodology.