NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Balsam Lake, 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 Balsam Lake, Wisconsin since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 71 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 71
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
9 deaths in all
What the records show for Balsam Lake
The strongest of the 71 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 21, 1957; its path came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on May 10, 1953, killed 4 people. Of the 71, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 34 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 28. The most recent tornado was on June 18, 2024. Of the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site, 53% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Balsam Lake. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 29 times since 1956, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 86% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Balsam Lake.
Compare Balsam Lake's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Balsam Lake
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s14(1 EF3+)
- 2000s16(1 EF3+)
- 1990s9
- 1980s6
- 1970s4(1 EF3+)
- 1960s13
- 1950s5(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 1957 | F4 | 24 mi | 9.2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 18, 2001 | F3 | 24 mi | 34 mi | 2 / 16 |
| Jun 23, 1952 | F3 | 5 mi | 18.2 mi | 2 / 6 |
| May 16, 2017 | EF3 | 18 mi | 82.53 mi | 1 / 25 |
| Jul 30, 1977 | F3 | 19 mi | 9.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1953 | F2 | 6 mi | 105.7 mi | 4 / 27 |
| Jul 22, 1967 | F2 | 15 mi | 49.1 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jun 12, 1967 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 10, 1966 | F2 | 9 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 5, 1965 | F2 | 18 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 1958 | F2 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 15, 1954 | F2 | 23 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 71, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Balsam Lake
The Storm Prediction Center has 29 hail reports within 10 miles of Balsam Lake since 1956, made on 24 separate days. Of these, 16 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on May 17, 1996. The most recent report is from September 19, 2024. May has the most reports, 8.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Balsam Lake
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Luck, WI, 9 miles northwest of Balsam Lake at 1,220 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 22°F and 5°F. July and August are the wettest at 4.3 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 32.9 inches over 65 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 4 days a year, almost all from June to July. Lows fall below freezing on about 162 nights a year. Snowfall averages 61.2 inches a year, most of it in December. That 32.9 inches is more than at 39 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (24%). Centuria, 6 miles west, has its own station (St Croix Falls, WI): 30.5 inches a year, 2.4 less than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22 | 5 | 0.8 | 3 | 9.8 |
| Feb | 28 | 8 | 0.8 | 3 | 12.6 |
| Mar | 40 | 21 | 1.5 | 4 | 9.0 |
| Apr | 55 | 34 | 2.7 | 7 | 4.6 |
| May | 68 | 46 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Jun | 77 | 56 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 60 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 58 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 50 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 57 | 38 | 3.4 | 6 | 1.3 |
| Nov | 40 | 25 | 1.9 | 4 | 8.4 |
| Dec | 27 | 12 | 1.2 | 3 | 15.3 |
| Year | 54 | 34 | 32.9 | 65 | 61.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Luck, WI (1,220 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 Balsam Lake
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 63 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Balsam Lake: 62 thunderstorm wind reports and 1 flash flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $4.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on July 19, 2019.
September 12, 2005: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Balsam Lake — $4.1 million damage.
July 19, 2011: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Balsam Lake — $500,000 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
Polk County, which includes Balsam Lake, has been named in 10 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 2 severe storms, 2 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Polk County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $23.0 million a year, the 37th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.7 million (33%), 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.