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Storms That Hit

NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Bristol, 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

1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Bristol, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 83 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
1

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
83

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
6

32 deaths in all

What the records show for Bristol

None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Bristol; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 59 mph winds when its centre passed 10 miles away. Bristol 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 83 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on September 28, 1972, came within 17 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 21, 1967, killed 24 people. Of the 83, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 35 have come since 2000. June and July have had the most tornadoes, 15 each. The most recent tornado was on June 22, 2024. Bristol has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 57% of the 416 Wisconsin cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 84 times since 1959, with stones up to 2.25 inches. Bristol has more hail reports within 10 miles than 74% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.

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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Bristol

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Bristol, Wisconsin, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1110 miTropical storm (59 mph)Category 4

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Bristol: 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 Bristol

By decade

  • 2020s13
  • 2010s13
  • 2000s9(1 EF3+)
  • 1990s6
  • 1980s8
  • 1970s13(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s13(4 EF3+)
  • 1950s8
Strongest tornadoes near Bristol, Wisconsin
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Apr 21, 1967F424 mi25.5 mi24 / 450
Apr 11, 1965F420 mi9.1 mi6 / 75
Apr 21, 1967F423 mi8.8 mi1 / 100
Sep 28, 1972F417 mi5.2 mi0 / 20
Jan 7, 2008EF36 mi10.78 mi0 / 15
Jul 19, 1963F310 mi10.6 mi0 / 0
Oct 8, 1958F212 mi81 mi1 / 0
Jul 22, 2010EF223 mi1 mi0 / 0
May 18, 1997F29 mi6 mi0 / 0
Apr 19, 1996F213 mi2 mi0 / 2
Apr 20, 1976F213 mi0.8 mi0 / 2
Sep 28, 1972F218 mi1 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 83, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Bristol

The Storm Prediction Center has 84 hail reports within 10 miles of Bristol since 1959, made on 58 separate days. Of these, 43 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.25 inches, fell on May 2, 2018. The most recent report is from May 7, 2024. May has the most reports, 22.

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

Weather by month in Bristol

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Paddock Lake, WI, 3 miles northwest of Bristol at 775 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 29°F and 13°F. May is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.7 inches; the year adds up to 37.7 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 146 nights a year. That 37.7 inches is more than at 138 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (84%). Antioch, IL, 6 miles southwest, has its own station (Lake Villa 2NE, IL): 37.7 inches a year, the same as here, and a July average high of 82°F against 83°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Paddock Lake, WI
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"
Jan29131.74
Feb33162.25
Mar44252.46
Apr56354.38
May68464.48
Jun78564.38
Jul83613.56
Aug80593.67
Sep74513.66
Oct61403.16
Nov46292.65
Dec35202.06
Year573837.774

Averages for 1991–2020 at Paddock Lake, WI (775 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 Bristol

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 173 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Bristol: 127 thunderstorm wind reports, 25 floods, 13 flash floods, 4 heavy rain events and 4 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $11.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on July 21, 1998. May has had the most flash floods, 4 of 13. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 322 have had fewer than Bristol.

  • October 26, 2010: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Bristol — 1 injured, $10,000 damage.

  • August 10, 2020: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Bristol — 1 injured.

  • April 17, 2013: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Bristol — $4.7 million 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

Kenosha County, which includes Bristol, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 4 floods, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Kenosha County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $63.5 million a year, the 9th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $19.5 million (31%), 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 Bristol

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

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