NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ellsworth, 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 Ellsworth, Wisconsin since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 86 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 86
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
26 deaths in all
What the records show for Ellsworth
The strongest of the 86 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 4, 1958; its path came within 14 miles, and it killed 21 people. Of the 86, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 41 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 32. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Ellsworth has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 59% of the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 64 times since 1961, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Ellsworth has more hail reports within 10 miles than 58% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Ellsworth
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s16
- 2000s15
- 1990s9
- 1980s12(1 EF3+)
- 1970s8
- 1960s8
- 1950s8(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 4, 1958 | F5 | 14 mi | 33.7 mi | 21 / 74 |
| Jul 27, 1987 | F3 | 16 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 1958 | F3 | 9 mi | 59.4 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Sep 12, 1951 | F3 | 20 mi | 24.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 10, 1953 | F2 | 13 mi | 105.7 mi | 4 / 27 |
| Jul 18, 1971 | F2 | 25 mi | 38.5 mi | 1 / 2 |
| May 15, 2025 | EF2 | 21 mi | 3.94 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 2010 | EF2 | 7 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 2010 | EF2 | 5 mi | 15.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1997 | F2 | 22 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1981 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 3, 1979 | F2 | in town | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 86, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Ellsworth
The Storm Prediction Center has 64 hail reports within 10 miles of Ellsworth since 1961, made on 48 separate days. Of these, 40 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on July 11, 1980. The most recent report is from August 11, 2023. May has the most reports, 17.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ellsworth
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ellsworth 1E, WI, in Ellsworth at 1,030 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 57°F; January is the coolest, at 21°F and 2°F. June is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 36.0 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from June to July. Lows fall below freezing on about 166 nights a year. That 36.0 inches is more than at 114 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (69%). Hager City, 8 miles southwest, has its own station (Red Wing Dam 3, MN): 32.6 inches a year, 3.4 less than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21 | 2 | 1.0 | 4 |
| Feb | 27 | 6 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Mar | 39 | 19 | 2.0 | 5 |
| Apr | 54 | 31 | 3.0 | 7 |
| May | 66 | 43 | 4.5 | 9 |
| Jun | 76 | 53 | 5.3 | 9 |
| Jul | 80 | 57 | 4.1 | 7 |
| Aug | 78 | 55 | 5.0 | 7 |
| Sep | 71 | 47 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Oct | 57 | 35 | 2.8 | 6 |
| Nov | 40 | 22 | 2.0 | 4 |
| Dec | 27 | 10 | 1.4 | 4 |
| Year | 53 | 32 | 36.0 | 69 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ellsworth 1E, WI (1,030 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 Ellsworth
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 49 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ellsworth: 46 thunderstorm wind reports, 1 flash flood, 1 flood and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $4.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 82 mph, on August 27, 2018.
June 29, 1996: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Ellsworth — $3.5 million damage.
June 11, 2001: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Ellsworth — $800,000 damage.
NWS: “Numerous trees down, some on houses and vehicles, in a wide swath across the county. One tree fell through a trailer in Balsam Lake.”
May 30, 1998: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Ellsworth — $300,000 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
Pierce County, which includes Ellsworth, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Pierce County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $18.8 million a year, the 44th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.9 million (48%), 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 Ellsworth
- Hager City, WI8 mi
- River Falls, WI12 mi
- Spring Valley, WI13 mi
- Red Wing, MN13 mi
- Prescott, WI16 mi
- Hammond, WI17 mi
- Roberts, WI18 mi
- Baldwin, WI18 mi
- Woodville, WI18 mi
- Hastings, MN19 mi
- Lakeland, MN21 mi
- Afton, MN21 mi
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