NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Chippewa Falls, 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 Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 70 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 70
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
36 deaths in all
What the records show for Chippewa Falls
The strongest of the 70 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 4, 1958; its path came within 16 miles, and it killed 21 people. Of the 70, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 20 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 22. The most recent tornado was on April 28, 2025. Of the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site, 53% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Chippewa Falls. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 111 times since 1956, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Chippewa Falls has more hail reports within 10 miles than 84% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Chippewa Falls
By decade
- 2020s12
- 2010s7(1 EF3+)
- 2000s1
- 1990s6(1 EF3+)
- 1980s18(1 EF3+)
- 1970s14(2 EF3+)
- 1960s4
- 1950s8(6 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 4, 1958 | F5 | 16 mi | 33.7 mi | 21 / 74 |
| Jun 4, 1958 | F4 | 13 mi | 59.2 mi | 4 / 3 |
| Jun 4, 1958 | F4 | 2 mi | 11.1 mi | 3 / 50 |
| May 10, 1953 | F4 | 17 mi | 162 mi | 2 / 24 |
| Jul 30, 1977 | F4 | 13 mi | 19 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Aug 27, 1994 | F3 | 12 mi | 10 mi | 2 / 25 |
| Jul 15, 1980 | F3 | 10 mi | 1 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Sep 24, 2019 | EF3 | 9 mi | 6.97 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Sep 28, 1971 | F3 | 18 mi | 49.6 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 4, 1958 | F3 | 11 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Sep 12, 1951 | F3 | 18 mi | 24.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 15, 1980 | F2 | 6 mi | 0.2 mi | 1 / 5 |
The strongest 12 of 70, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Chippewa Falls
The Storm Prediction Center has 111 hail reports within 10 miles of Chippewa Falls since 1956, made on 67 separate days. Of these, 60 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 15, 2025. The most recent report is from July 4, 2025. May has the most reports, 25.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Chippewa Falls
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Eau Claire Regional Airport, WI, 7 miles southwest of Chippewa Falls at 885 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 23°F and 6°F. June is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 33.1 inches over 68 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 10 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 163 nights a year. Snowfall averages 55.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 33.1 inches is more than at 42 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (25%). Altoona, 9 miles south, has its own station (Eau Claire 3SW, WI): 32.7 inches a year, 0.4 less than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23 | 6 | 1.0 | 3 | 13.5 |
| Feb | 28 | 9 | 1.1 | 3 | 11.2 |
| Mar | 41 | 21 | 2.0 | 5 | 9.6 |
| Apr | 57 | 33 | 3.1 | 7 | 4.3 |
| May | 70 | 45 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.4 |
| Jun | 79 | 56 | 4.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 60 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 58 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 49 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 58 | 37 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.7 |
| Nov | 42 | 25 | 1.8 | 4 | 4.7 |
| Dec | 29 | 13 | 1.4 | 4 | 11.0 |
| Year | 55 | 34 | 33.1 | 68 | 55.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Eau Claire Regional Airport, WI (885 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 Chippewa Falls
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 116 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Chippewa Falls: 96 thunderstorm wind reports, 12 flash floods, 4 heavy rain events, 3 lightning strikes and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $4.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 82 mph, on June 7, 2005. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 12. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 310 have had fewer than Chippewa Falls.
April 17, 2002: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Chippewa Falls — 1 injured, $300,000 damage.
June 11, 2001: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Chippewa Falls — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “5 mile wide swath of damaging wind extended across much of Barron County. Numerous trees down, roof blown off house, trailers tipped over at RV Park, chopper box and semi truck blown over in Turtle Lake.”
September 21, 2016: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Chippewa Falls — $882,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Chippewa Falls's ZIP code 54729 have filed 16 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $27,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 128 Wisconsin cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 34 have fewer than Chippewa Falls.
Chippewa County, which includes Chippewa Falls, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 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 Chippewa 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 $31.7 million a year, the 27th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $16.4 million (52%), 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 Chippewa Falls
- Altoona, WI9 mi
- Eau Claire, WI10 mi
- Cadott, WI11 mi
- Bloomer, WI13 mi
- Fall Creek, WI13 mi
- Elk Mound, WI15 mi
- Colfax, WI18 mi
- Cornell, WI19 mi
- Augusta, WI21 mi
- New Auburn, WI22 mi
- Stanley, WI23 mi
- Eleva, WI24 mi
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