NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Cochrane, 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 Cochrane, Wisconsin since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 58 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 58
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Cochrane
The strongest of the 58 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 10, 1953; its path came within 8 miles, and it killed 2 people. Of the 58, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 30 have come since 2000. May and June have had the most tornadoes, 14 each. The most recent tornado was on June 25, 2025. Of the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site, 70% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Cochrane. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 67 times since 1973, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Cochrane has more hail reports within 10 miles than 62% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Cochrane
By decade
- 2020s16
- 2010s11
- 2000s3
- 1990s11(1 EF3+)
- 1980s7
- 1970s2
- 1960s6
- 1950s2(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 1953 | F4 | 8 mi | 162 mi | 2 / 24 |
| May 15, 1998 | F3 | 22 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jul 8, 1999 | F2 | 18 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 17, 1982 | F2 | 2 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 5, 1980 | F2 | 19 mi | 5.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 27, 1968 | F2 | 24 mi | 5.7 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 28, 2025 | EF1 | 25 mi | 5.56 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF1 | 22 mi | 0.84 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF1 | 2 mi | 2.69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF1 | 1 mi | 3.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2024 | EF1 | 7 mi | 19.74 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF1 | 20 mi | 4.85 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 58, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Cochrane
The Storm Prediction Center has 67 hail reports within 10 miles of Cochrane since 1973, made on 46 separate days. Of these, 29 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on June 17, 2021. The most recent report is from June 19, 2025. June has the most reports, 24.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Cochrane
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Minnesota City Dam 5, MN, 6 miles south of Cochrane at 670 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 23°F and 8°F. June is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 35.4 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 14 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 140 nights a year. Snowfall averages 36.0 inches a year, most of it in February. That 35.4 inches is more than at 102 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (62%). Fountain City, 11 miles southeast, has its own station (Winona Dam 5 A, MN): 34.5 inches a year, 0.9 less than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23 | 8 | 1.1 | 4 | 8.8 |
| Feb | 29 | 11 | 1.1 | 3 | 9.2 |
| Mar | 42 | 25 | 2.0 | 5 | 5.6 |
| Apr | 56 | 37 | 3.7 | 7 | 1.5 |
| May | 69 | 50 | 4.6 | 9 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 79 | 59 | 5.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 64 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 62 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 54 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 57 | 41 | 2.5 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 41 | 28 | 1.9 | 4 | 1.7 |
| Dec | 28 | 15 | 1.2 | 4 | 9.0 |
| Year | 55 | 38 | 35.4 | 69 | 36.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Minnesota City Dam 5, MN (670 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 Cochrane
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 89 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Cochrane: 58 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 heavy rain events, 10 flash floods and 10 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $5.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 19, 1996. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 269 have had fewer than Cochrane.
July 19, 2017: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Cochrane — $3.4 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rains of 6 to 8 inches across the southern half of Buffalo County produced flash flooding. A mudslide covered a portion of State Highway 37 north of Alma.”
July 20, 2017: flood 2 miles from the centre of Cochrane — $1.7 million damage.
NWS: “After the initial flash flooding across Buffalo County, the flood waters continued to cause problems through July 20th into the 21st. Flood waters along Eagle Creek washed out a bridge on County Road G north of Fountain City.”
June 25, 2010: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Cochrane — $150,000 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
Buffalo County, which includes Cochrane, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Buffalo County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $7.0 million a year, the 69th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.4 million (49%), 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 Cochrane
- Fountain City, WI11 mi
- Wabasha, MN14 mi
- Arcadia, WI17 mi
- Winona, MN17 mi
- Plainview, MN18 mi
- Independence, WI20 mi
- Lewiston, MN20 mi
- Saint Charles, MN22 mi
- Elgin, MN24 mi
- Trempealeau, WI24 mi
- Mondovi, WI24 mi
- Durand, WI26 mi
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