NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Clear 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 Clear Lake, Wisconsin since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 83 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 83
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
30 deaths in all
What the records show for Clear Lake
The strongest of the 83 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 4, 1958; its path came within 21 miles, and it killed 21 people. Of the 83, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 37 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 32. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Clear Lake has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 57% of the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 41 times since 1989, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 69% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Clear Lake.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Clear Lake
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s13(1 EF3+)
- 2000s16
- 1990s11
- 1980s11
- 1970s8(1 EF3+)
- 1960s11
- 1950s5(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 4, 1958 | F5 | 21 mi | 33.7 mi | 21 / 74 |
| Jun 23, 1952 | F3 | 22 mi | 18.2 mi | 2 / 6 |
| May 16, 2017 | EF3 | 3 mi | 82.53 mi | 1 / 25 |
| Jul 30, 1977 | F3 | 3 mi | 9.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1953 | F2 | 8 mi | 105.7 mi | 4 / 27 |
| Jul 15, 1980 | F2 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Jul 18, 1971 | F2 | 15 mi | 38.5 mi | 1 / 2 |
| May 15, 2025 | EF2 | 16 mi | 3.94 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 11, 1990 | F2 | 25 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 22, 1967 | F2 | 13 mi | 49.1 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jun 12, 1967 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 10, 1966 | F2 | 8 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 83, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Clear Lake
The Storm Prediction Center has 41 hail reports within 10 miles of Clear Lake since 1989, made on 28 separate days. Of these, 29 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 16, 2017. The most recent report is from July 30, 2024. May and July have the most reports, 12 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Clear Lake
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Amery, WI, 8 miles northwest of Clear Lake at 1,070 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 4°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 34.6 inches over 68 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 4 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 167 nights a year. That 34.6 inches is more than at 84 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (51%). Glenwood City, 12 miles south, has its own station (Baldwin, WI): 33.0 inches a year, 1.6 less than here, and a July average high of 79°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22 | 4 | 1.1 | 3 |
| Feb | 27 | 7 | 1.1 | 3 |
| Mar | 40 | 20 | 1.7 | 4 |
| Apr | 54 | 33 | 3.0 | 7 |
| May | 67 | 46 | 3.9 | 8 |
| Jun | 76 | 55 | 4.8 | 8 |
| Jul | 81 | 60 | 4.6 | 7 |
| Aug | 79 | 58 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Sep | 71 | 50 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Oct | 56 | 36 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Nov | 40 | 24 | 1.9 | 4 |
| Dec | 27 | 12 | 1.5 | 4 |
| Year | 53 | 34 | 34.6 | 68 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Amery, WI (1,070 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 Clear Lake
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 55 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Clear Lake: 48 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $14.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on September 12, 2005. September has had the most flash floods, 3 of 6. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 197 have had fewer than Clear Lake.
June 29, 2020: flash flood 3 miles from the centre of Clear Lake — 1 killed, $8.0 million damage.
NWS: “Parts of St. Croix County received over 8 to 9 inches of rain causing flooding and washed out roads across the county.”
September 12, 2005: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Clear Lake — $4.1 million damage.
May 19, 1996: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Clear Lake — $2.2 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
Polk County, which includes Clear 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.
Cities near Clear Lake
- Clayton, WI7 mi
- Amery, WI10 mi
- Glenwood City, WI12 mi
- Turtle Lake, WI12 mi
- Star Prairie, WI15 mi
- Boyceville, WI16 mi
- New Richmond, WI17 mi
- Balsam Lake, WI17 mi
- Dresser, WI20 mi
- Baldwin, WI20 mi
- Woodville, WI20 mi
- Osceola, WI21 mi
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