NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Grafton, 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 Grafton, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 44 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 44
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Grafton
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Grafton; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 59 mph winds when its centre passed 41 miles away. Grafton is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. The highest rating among the 44 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 27, 1984, came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 4, 1981, killed 3 people. Of the 44, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 13 have come since 2000. July and August have had the most tornadoes, 11 each. The most recent tornado was on October 12, 2022. Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 85% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Grafton. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 81 times since 1960, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Grafton has more hail reports within 10 miles than 71% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Grafton
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Grafton: 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 Grafton
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s3
- 2000s9
- 1990s4
- 1980s10(2 EF3+)
- 1970s6(1 EF3+)
- 1960s10(1 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 1981 | F4 | 15 mi | 1.8 mi | 3 / 53 |
| Apr 27, 1984 | F4 | 21 mi | 6.5 mi | 1 / 14 |
| Aug 22, 1964 | F4 | 4 mi | 2.2 mi | 0 / 30 |
| Jun 5, 1977 | F3 | 20 mi | 69.5 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jun 1, 2000 | F2 | 22 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 4, 1980 | F2 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 7, 1980 | F2 | 19 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 2, 1977 | F2 | 18 mi | 9.3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 25, 1975 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 21, 1968 | F2 | 18 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 3, 1964 | F2 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 22, 1962 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 44, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Grafton
The Storm Prediction Center has 81 hail reports within 10 miles of Grafton since 1960, made on 47 separate days. Of these, 49 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 23, 2004. The most recent report is from June 25, 2024. April has the most reports, 20.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Grafton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Saukville Wwtp, WI, 3 miles north of Grafton at 766 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 79°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 27°F and 12°F. June is the wettest at 4.3 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.5 inches; the year adds up to 35.0 inches over 75 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 3 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 157 nights a year. That 35.0 inches is more than at 94 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (57%). Port Washington, 6 miles northeast, has its own station (Port Washington, WI): 34.0 inches a year, 1.0 less than here, and the same July average high, 79°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 12 | 1.5 | 5 |
| Feb | 31 | 14 | 1.7 | 4 |
| Mar | 41 | 23 | 2.1 | 5 |
| Apr | 52 | 33 | 3.9 | 8 |
| May | 64 | 43 | 3.8 | 9 |
| Jun | 74 | 54 | 4.3 | 8 |
| Jul | 79 | 59 | 3.3 | 7 |
| Aug | 77 | 57 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Sep | 71 | 50 | 3.3 | 7 |
| Oct | 58 | 39 | 2.8 | 7 |
| Nov | 44 | 28 | 2.1 | 5 |
| Dec | 33 | 18 | 2.2 | 5 |
| Year | 54 | 36 | 35.0 | 75 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Saukville Wwtp, WI (766 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 Grafton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 97 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Grafton: 57 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 floods, 13 flash floods, 6 lightning strikes and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 7, and the NWS estimated $14.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 28, 2016. August has had the most flash floods, 8 of 13. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 322 have had fewer than Grafton.
August 10, 2025: flood 7 miles from the centre of Grafton — 1 killed, 1 injured, $1.0 million damage.
May 31, 1998: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Grafton — 4 injured, $3.8 million damage.
June 28, 2008: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Grafton — 2 injured, $500 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Grafton's ZIP code 53024 have filed 14 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1986, and were paid $169,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 43% 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, 19 have fewer than Grafton.
Ozaukee County, which includes Grafton, 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 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Ozaukee County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $33.1 million a year, the 25th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $17.3 million (52%), 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 Grafton
- Cedarburg, WI3 mi
- Saukville, WI5 mi
- Port Washington, WI6 mi
- Mequon, WI7 mi
- Fredonia, WI11 mi
- Jackson, WI11 mi
- Germantown, WI11 mi
- Belgium, WI13 mi
- Glendale, WI13 mi
- Richfield, WI14 mi
- West Bend, WI14 mi
- Menomonee Falls, WI15 mi
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