NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Columbus, 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 Columbus, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 138 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 15 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 138
- EF3 or stronger
- 15
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
18 deaths in all
What the records show for Columbus
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Columbus; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 56 miles away. Columbus is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. The strongest of the 138 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 7, 1984; its path came within 24 miles, and it killed 9 people. Of the 138, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 60 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 47. The most recent tornado was on July 16, 2025. Columbus has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 97% of the 416 Wisconsin cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 36 times since 1956, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 74% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Columbus.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Columbus
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Columbus: 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 Columbus
By decade
- 2020s16
- 2010s13
- 2000s31(2 EF3+)
- 1990s10(1 EF3+)
- 1980s32(4 EF3+)
- 1970s17(3 EF3+)
- 1960s15(4 EF3+)
- 1950s4(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 7, 1984 | F5 | 24 mi | 36 mi | 9 / 200 |
| Sep 26, 1951 | F4 | 13 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Apr 21, 1974 | F3 | 18 mi | 58.6 mi | 2 / 18 |
| Aug 2, 1967 | F3 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 2 / 5 |
| Jun 23, 2004 | F3 | 23 mi | 7.6 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Jun 23, 2004 | F3 | 25 mi | 33.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 17, 1992 | F3 | 25 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 30 |
| Jun 8, 1984 | F3 | 12 mi | 29 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 5, 1980 | F3 | 20 mi | 10.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 7, 1980 | F3 | 10 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 4, 1975 | F3 | 10 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 21, 1974 | F3 | 21 mi | 22.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 138, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Columbus
The Storm Prediction Center has 36 hail reports within 10 miles of Columbus since 1956, made on 30 separate days. Of these, 23 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on August 3, 2004. The most recent report is from September 22, 2025. May has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Columbus
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Waterloo Wwtp, WI, 11 miles south of Columbus at 800 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 27°F and 11°F. June is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.4 inches; the year adds up to 38.3 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 147 nights a year. That 38.3 inches is more than at 146 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (88%). Fall River, 5 miles north, has its own station (Town Of Westford, WI): 37.8 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 11 | 1.4 | 4 |
| Feb | 31 | 14 | 1.6 | 4 |
| Mar | 43 | 24 | 2.0 | 5 |
| Apr | 57 | 35 | 3.9 | 7 |
| May | 69 | 46 | 4.2 | 8 |
| Jun | 79 | 57 | 5.6 | 9 |
| Jul | 82 | 61 | 4.4 | 6 |
| Aug | 81 | 59 | 4.1 | 7 |
| Sep | 73 | 50 | 3.9 | 7 |
| Oct | 61 | 38 | 3.0 | 7 |
| Nov | 45 | 28 | 2.4 | 5 |
| Dec | 33 | 18 | 1.8 | 5 |
| Year | 57 | 37 | 38.3 | 73 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Waterloo Wwtp, WI (800 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 Columbus
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 58 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Columbus: 50 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 floods and 3 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on July 13, 2015.
July 13, 2015: thunderstorm wind in Columbus — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “Widespread tree damage in the city of Columbus with many of the roads blocked by debris. A State of Emergency was declared in the city.”
June 10, 1999: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Columbus — $200,000 damage.
July 13, 2015: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Columbus — $120,000 damage.
NWS: “Straight line wind damage collapsed the roofs of three old barns and partially collapsed the roof of a pole barn. Many large tree branches snapped and some whole trees downed.”
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 Columbus's ZIP code 53925 have filed 25 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1993, and were paid $398,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from March 2019 Midwest Flooding in 2019: 12 claims (48% of all) and $318,000. 68% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 128 Wisconsin cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 62 have fewer than Columbus.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| March 2019 Midwest Flooding2019 | 12 | $318,000 |
Columbia County, which includes Columbus, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1976, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Columbia County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for hail; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $51.4 million a year, the 12th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $20.5 million (40%), is from hail.
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 Columbus
- Fall River, WI5 mi
- Waterloo, WI11 mi
- Marshall, WI12 mi
- Rio, WI12 mi
- Beaver Dam, WI13 mi
- Sun Prairie, WI14 mi
- Randolph, WI14 mi
- Cambria, WI16 mi
- Deforest, WI16 mi
- Juneau, WI17 mi
- Fox Lake, WI17 mi
- Windsor, WI18 mi
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