NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Athens, 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 October 26, 2026

1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Athens, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Cristobal in 2020. Since 1950, 66 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes: 0
Tropical storms: 1
Tornadoes: 66
EF3 or stronger: 6

What the records show for Athens

None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Athens; the strongest was Cristobal in 2020, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 33 miles away. Athens is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. The highest rating among the 66 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on August 31, 1977, came within 15 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on June 4, 1958, killed 4 people. Of the 66, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 35 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 58% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Athens. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 38 times since 1988, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 72% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Athens.

Compare Athens's storm record with another city →

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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Athens

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Athens, Wisconsin, newest first
Year	Storm	Closest	Strength when closest	Peak
2020	CristobalJun 10	33 mi	Tropical storm (40 mph)	Tropical storm

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Athens: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.

Tornadoes within 25 miles of Athens

By decade

2020s10
2010s7(1 EF3+)
2000s18
1990s6
1980s5
1970s5(3 EF3+)
1960s9
1950s6(2 EF3+)

Strongest tornadoes near Athens, Wisconsin
Date	Rating	Distance	Path	Killed / injured
Jun 4, 1958	F4	10 mi	59.2 mi	4 / 3
Aug 31, 1977	F4	15 mi	31.8 mi	0 / 10
Apr 10, 2011	EF3	8 mi	21.15 mi	0 / 2
Sep 28, 1971	F3	20 mi	78.4 mi	0 / 0
Sep 28, 1971	F3	3 mi	49.6 mi	0 / 5
May 3, 1955	F3	25 mi	6.8 mi	0 / 2
Jun 25, 1950	F2	14 mi	7.8 mi	1 / 0
May 15, 2025	EF2	17 mi	4.63 mi	0 / 0
Sep 2, 2002	F2	24 mi	17 mi	0 / 0
Aug 7, 1996	F2	2 mi	2.5 mi	0 / 0
May 8, 1988	F2	8 mi	13 mi	0 / 2
Sep 24, 1984	F2	12 mi	12 mi	0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 66, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Athens

The Storm Prediction Center has 38 hail reports within 10 miles of Athens since 1988, made on 34 separate days. Of these, 22 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on July 13, 2024. The most recent report is from March 14, 2025. May has the most reports, 11.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Athens

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Medford, WI, 17 miles west of Athens at 1,470 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 79°F and low of 57°F; January is the coolest, at 21°F and 2°F. June is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 34.2 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 3 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 177 nights a year. Snowfall averages 57.0 inches a year, most of it in December. That 34.2 inches is more than at 75 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (45%). Edgar, 9 miles south, has its own station (Wausau Dwtn Airport, WI): 34.0 inches a year, 0.2 less than here, and a July average high of 80°F against 79°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Medford, WI
Month	High °F	Low °F	Precip. in	Days ≥ 0.1"	Snow in
Jan	21	2	1.1	4	12.8
Feb	26	6	1.1	3	13.9
Mar	38	18	1.7	5	6.0
Apr	52	31	3.0	7	4.0
May	66	43	3.7	8	0.1
Jun	75	53	4.8	8	0.0
Jul	79	57	4.0	8	0.0
Aug	77	55	4.3	7	0.0
Sep	69	47	3.9	7	0.0
Oct	55	35	3.3	7	0.5
Nov	39	23	1.9	4	4.5
Dec	26	10	1.4	4	15.2
Year	52	32	34.2	71	57.0

Averages for 1991–2020 at Medford, WI (1,470 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.

Wisconsin weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Athens

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 46 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Athens: 37 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 floods, 2 heavy rain events, 2 lightning strikes and 1 flash flood. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 7, 2005.

June 26, 2013: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Athens — 1 injured.
August 7, 1996: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Athens — $840,000 damage.
September 23, 2010: flood 9 miles from the centre of Athens — $112,000 damage.

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

Marathon County, which includes Athens, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 2 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Marathon County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $74.9 million a year, the 6th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $35.6 million (48%), 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 Athens

All Wisconsin cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Athens with another place →

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