NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Altoona, WI
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Altoona, Wisconsin since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 78 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 78
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
35 deaths in all
What the records show for Altoona
The strongest of the 78 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 4, 1958; its path came within 20 miles, and it killed 21 people. Of the 78, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 25 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on April 28, 2025. Altoona has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 52% of the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 126 times since 1956, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Altoona has more hail reports within 10 miles than 87% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
Compare Altoona's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Altoona
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s8(1 EF3+)
- 2000s2
- 1990s9(2 EF3+)
- 1980s16(1 EF3+)
- 1970s14(2 EF3+)
- 1960s5
- 1950s9(6 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 4, 1958 | F5 | 20 mi | 33.7 mi | 21 / 74 |
| Jun 4, 1958 | F4 | 9 mi | 59.2 mi | 4 / 3 |
| Jun 4, 1958 | F4 | 9 mi | 11.1 mi | 3 / 50 |
| May 10, 1953 | F4 | 14 mi | 162 mi | 2 / 24 |
| Jul 30, 1977 | F4 | 21 mi | 19 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Aug 27, 1994 | F3 | 7 mi | 10 mi | 2 / 25 |
| Jul 15, 1980 | F3 | 4 mi | 1 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Sep 24, 2019 | EF3 | 10 mi | 6.97 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 15, 1998 | F3 | 21 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Sep 28, 1971 | F3 | 22 mi | 49.6 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 4, 1958 | F3 | 17 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Sep 12, 1951 | F3 | 17 mi | 24.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 78, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Altoona
The Storm Prediction Center has 126 hail reports within 10 miles of Altoona since 1956, made on 71 separate days. Of these, 65 were 1 inch across or larger, and 10 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 15, 2025, the most recent report. May has the most reports, 33.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Altoona
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Eau Claire 3SW, WI, 4 miles west of Altoona at 880 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 25°F and 8°F. June is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 32.7 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 8 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 148 nights a year. Snowfall averages 54.0 inches a year, most of it in February. That 32.7 inches is more than at 36 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (22%). Fall Creek, 8 miles east, has its own station (Augusta Rs, WI): 34.6 inches a year, 1.9 more than here, and the same July average high, 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25 | 8 | 1.1 | 3 | 10.0 |
| Feb | 29 | 12 | 1.1 | 4 | 13.5 |
| Mar | 42 | 24 | 1.9 | 5 | 8.3 |
| Apr | 56 | 36 | 3.3 | 7 | 4.5 |
| May | 69 | 49 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.5 |
| Jun | 78 | 58 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 62 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 61 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 52 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 58 | 40 | 2.5 | 6 | 0.8 |
| Nov | 42 | 27 | 1.8 | 4 | 3.3 |
| Dec | 30 | 15 | 1.4 | 5 | 13.1 |
| Year | 55 | 37 | 32.7 | 67 | 54.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Eau Claire 3SW, WI (880 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Altoona
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 115 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Altoona: 98 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 flash floods, 4 heavy rain events, 2 lightning strikes and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $4.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on April 17, 2002. June has had the most flash floods, 4 of 10. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 269 have had fewer than Altoona.
April 17, 2002: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Altoona — 1 injured, $300,000 damage.
June 10, 2016: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Altoona — 1 injured, $100,000 damage.
July 20, 2019: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Altoona — 1 injured.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Eau Claire County, which includes Altoona, has been named in 9 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Eau Claire County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $47.9 million a year, the 14th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $23.9 million (50%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Altoona
- Eau Claire, WI3 mi
- Fall Creek, WI8 mi
- Chippewa Falls, WI9 mi
- Elk Mound, WI13 mi
- Eleva, WI15 mi
- Augusta, WI17 mi
- Cadott, WI18 mi
- Strum, WI18 mi
- Mondovi, WI19 mi
- Colfax, WI20 mi
- Osseo, WI20 mi
- Bloomer, WI21 mi
All Wisconsin cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Altoona with another place →