NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fox 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
1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Fox Lake, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 136 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 136
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Fox Lake
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Fox Lake; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 68 miles away. Fox Lake is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. The strongest of the 136 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on July 18, 1996; its path came within 17 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on April 21, 1974, killed 2 people. Of the 136, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 64 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 40. The most recent tornado was on July 16, 2025. Fox Lake has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 96% of the 416 Wisconsin cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 86 times since 1965, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Fox Lake has more hail reports within 10 miles than 75% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
Compare Fox Lake's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Fox Lake
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 68 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 Fox Lake: 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 Fox Lake
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s27
- 2000s28(2 EF3+)
- 1990s12(1 EF3+)
- 1980s30(2 EF3+)
- 1970s15(4 EF3+)
- 1960s9
- 1950s6(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 1996 | F5 | 17 mi | 13.3 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Sep 26, 1951 | F4 | 9 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Apr 21, 1974 | F4 | 13 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 35 |
| Apr 21, 1974 | F3 | 9 mi | 58.6 mi | 2 / 18 |
| Jun 23, 2004 | F3 | 7 mi | 7.6 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Jun 23, 2004 | F3 | 8 mi | 33.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 1984 | F3 | 9 mi | 29 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 7, 1980 | F3 | 7 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 5, 1977 | F3 | 16 mi | 69.5 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Apr 21, 1974 | F3 | 8 mi | 22.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 2025 | EF2 | 16 mi | 8.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 2025 | EF2 | 15 mi | 11.48 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 136, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Fox Lake
The Storm Prediction Center has 86 hail reports within 10 miles of Fox Lake since 1965, made on 53 separate days. Of these, 49 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 May 15, 2025. May has the most reports, 22.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fox Lake
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Town Of Westford, WI, 7 miles south of Fox Lake at 879 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 25°F and 8°F. June is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 37.8 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 157 nights a year. That 37.8 inches is more than at 140 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (85%). Beaver Dam, 8 miles south, has its own station (Beaver Dam Wwtp, WI): 36.3 inches a year, 1.5 less than here, and a July average high of 80°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25 | 8 | 1.6 | 5 |
| Feb | 29 | 11 | 1.7 | 5 |
| Mar | 41 | 22 | 2.4 | 6 |
| Apr | 55 | 34 | 3.8 | 8 |
| May | 68 | 47 | 4.4 | 8 |
| Jun | 78 | 56 | 5.0 | 8 |
| Jul | 81 | 60 | 4.1 | 6 |
| Aug | 79 | 58 | 3.8 | 6 |
| Sep | 72 | 50 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Oct | 59 | 39 | 3.1 | 7 |
| Nov | 44 | 27 | 2.3 | 5 |
| Dec | 31 | 15 | 2.0 | 6 |
| Year | 55 | 36 | 37.8 | 74 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Town Of Westford, WI (879 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 Fox Lake
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 133 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fox Lake: 113 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 flash floods, 7 floods, 3 lightning strikes and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 7, and the NWS estimated $1.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on July 21, 2016. June has had the most flash floods, 3 of 8. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 239 have had fewer than Fox Lake.
July 30, 2011: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Fox Lake — 5 injured.
May 9, 2011: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Fox Lake — 2 injured, $50,000 damage.
August 22, 2007: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Fox Lake — $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
Dodge County, which includes Fox Lake, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Dodge County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $34.1 million a year, the 24th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $14.5 million (42%), 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 Fox Lake
- Randolph, WI6 mi
- Beaver Dam, WI8 mi
- Waupun, WI10 mi
- Cambria, WI12 mi
- Markesan, WI13 mi
- Brandon, WI13 mi
- Fall River, WI14 mi
- Horicon, WI16 mi
- Juneau, WI16 mi
- Columbus, WI17 mi
- Mayville, WI19 mi
- Oakfield, WI19 mi
All Wisconsin cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Fox Lake with another place →