NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Darlington, 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 Darlington, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 93 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 93
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
9 deaths in all
What the records show for Darlington
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Darlington; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 54 mph winds when its centre passed 34 miles away. Darlington is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. The strongest of the 93 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 7, 1984; its path came within 21 miles, and it killed 9 people. Of the 93, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 42 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 39. The most recent tornado was on July 16, 2025. Darlington has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 65% of the 416 Wisconsin cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 27 times since 1969, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 88% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Darlington.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Darlington
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Darlington: 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 Darlington
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s17
- 2000s14
- 1990s12
- 1980s12(3 EF3+)
- 1970s10
- 1960s14(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 7, 1984 | F5 | 21 mi | 36 mi | 9 / 200 |
| Jul 3, 1983 | F4 | 20 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1988 | F3 | 2 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 16, 1967 | F3 | 15 mi | 27.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 15, 2024 | EF2 | 19 mi | 15.41 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 2024 | EF2 | 8 mi | 6.87 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 29, 2014 | EF2 | 20 mi | 5.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 2014 | EF2 | 17 mi | 3.76 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 15, 1998 | F2 | 8 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 11 |
| May 30, 1985 | F2 | 22 mi | 21 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1985 | F2 | 21 mi | 16 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1984 | F2 | 10 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 93, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Darlington
The Storm Prediction Center has 27 hail reports within 10 miles of Darlington since 1969, made on 19 separate days. Of these, 21 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently April 18, 2025. The most recent report is from April 18, 2025. April has the most reports, 10.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Darlington
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Darlington Wwtp, WI, in Darlington at 854 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 27°F and 8°F. June is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.3 inches; the year adds up to 37.7 inches over 68 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 158 nights a year. Snowfall averages 35.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 37.7 inches is more than at 138 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (84%). Mineral Point, 12 miles north, has its own station (Dodgeville Wwtp, WI): 39.7 inches a year, 2.0 more than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 8 | 1.3 | 4 | 11.3 |
| Feb | 32 | 12 | 1.4 | 4 | 9.2 |
| Mar | 44 | 23 | 2.0 | 5 | 4.6 |
| Apr | 58 | 35 | 3.9 | 7 | 1.0 |
| May | 69 | 46 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.6 |
| Jun | 79 | 57 | 5.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 60 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 58 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 48 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 37 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.6 |
| Nov | 46 | 26 | 2.4 | 4 | 2.2 |
| Dec | 33 | 15 | 1.7 | 4 | 6.2 |
| Year | 57 | 35 | 37.7 | 68 | 35.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Darlington Wwtp, WI (854 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 Darlington
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 64 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Darlington: 52 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 floods and 2 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $3.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on May 21, 2024.
May 31, 1998: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Darlington — $975,000 damage.
June 12, 2008: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Darlington — $762,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding from the Darlington area to Yellowstone Lake State Park. Water depths on road surfaces reached 3 feet or more and there were gravel washouts.”
August 18, 2007: flash flood in Darlington — $600,000 damage.
NWS: “Flash flooding occurred in scattered locations between the northwest side of Darlington to the extreme northeast corner of Lafayette County. Just northwest of Darlington, a road was closed due to fast flowing water covering the road to a depth of 1 to 2 feet.”
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 Darlington's ZIP code 53530 have filed 54 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1990, and were paid $521,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1993: 27 claims (50% of all) and $146,000. 52% 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, 99 have fewer than Darlington.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1993 | 27 | $146,000 |
Lafayette County, which includes Darlington, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lafayette County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail; Relatively Low for tornadoes and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.0 million a year, the 58th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.6 million (30%), 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 Darlington
- Shullsburg, WI10 mi
- Mineral Point, WI12 mi
- Argyle, WI13 mi
- Blanchardville, WI15 mi
- Cuba City, WI18 mi
- Platteville, WI20 mi
- Dodgeville, WI20 mi
- Hazel Green, WI23 mi
- Stockton, IL24 mi
- Monroe, WI25 mi
- Galena, IL25 mi
- Barneveld, WI25 mi
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