NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Chetek, 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 Chetek, Wisconsin since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 61 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 61
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
23 deaths in all
What the records show for Chetek
The strongest of the 61 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 4, 1958; its path came within 18 miles, and it killed 21 people. Of the 61, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 21 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on May 9, 2022. Of the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site, 64% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Chetek. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 34 times since 1965, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 76% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Chetek.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Chetek
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s11(1 EF3+)
- 2000s6
- 1990s13
- 1980s6
- 1970s9(2 EF3+)
- 1960s7
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 4, 1958 | F5 | 18 mi | 33.7 mi | 21 / 74 |
| Jul 30, 1977 | F4 | 15 mi | 19 mi | 0 / 20 |
| May 16, 2017 | EF3 | 1 mi | 82.53 mi | 1 / 25 |
| Jul 30, 1977 | F3 | 21 mi | 9.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 30, 1977 | F2 | 22 mi | 34.5 mi | 1 / 8 |
| Apr 26, 1994 | F2 | 8 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 11, 1990 | F2 | 8 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 11, 1990 | F2 | 17 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 3, 1986 | F2 | in town | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 12, 1982 | F2 | 22 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 24, 1975 | F2 | 10 mi | 34.2 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jul 22, 1967 | F2 | in town | 49.1 mi | 0 / 6 |
The strongest 12 of 61, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Chetek
The Storm Prediction Center has 34 hail reports within 10 miles of Chetek since 1965, made on 25 separate days. Of these, 21 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on July 23, 1965. The most recent report is from September 21, 2024. June has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Chetek
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Rice Lake, WI, 10 miles northwest of Chetek at 1,103 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 22°F and 2°F. June and August are the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 31.5 inches over 64 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 173 nights a year. Snowfall averages 52.5 inches a year, most of it in December. That 31.5 inches is more than at 17 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (10%). New Auburn, 8 miles southeast, has its own station (Bloomer, WI): 31.7 inches a year, 0.2 more than here, and the same July average high, 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22 | 2 | 0.9 | 3 | 10.5 |
| Feb | 27 | 5 | 0.8 | 2 | 10.7 |
| Mar | 40 | 18 | 1.5 | 4 | 8.9 |
| Apr | 54 | 32 | 2.8 | 6 | 3.5 |
| May | 68 | 45 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.5 |
| Jun | 77 | 55 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 59 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 56 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 48 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 57 | 35 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.8 |
| Nov | 40 | 23 | 1.7 | 4 | 5.7 |
| Dec | 27 | 10 | 1.2 | 4 | 11.9 |
| Year | 54 | 32 | 31.5 | 64 | 52.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Rice Lake, WI (1,103 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 Chetek
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 45 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Chetek: 41 thunderstorm wind reports and 4 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $2.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 25, 2016.
June 11, 2017: thunderstorm wind in Chetek — 1 killed.
NWS: “The Chetek Police Department confirmed a storm-related fatality, as a 46-year-old was killed while cutting down storm damage and the debris rolled over the individual. This was an indirect fatality.”
May 25, 2016: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Chetek — $1.5 million damage.
May 19, 1996: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Chetek — $800,000 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
Barron County, which includes Chetek, 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 Barron County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $26.3 million a year, the 30th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.3 million (32%), 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 Chetek
- Cameron, WI7 mi
- New Auburn, WI8 mi
- Barron, WI12 mi
- Rice Lake, WI15 mi
- Bloomer, WI16 mi
- Bruce, WI19 mi
- Colfax, WI21 mi
- Clayton, WI24 mi
- Holcombe, WI24 mi
- Birchwood, WI25 mi
- Cornell, WI25 mi
- Boyceville, WI25 mi
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