NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hales Corners, 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 Hales Corners, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 84 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 84
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Hales Corners
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Hales Corners; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 59 mph winds when its centre passed 16 miles away. Hales Corners is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. The strongest of the 84 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 27, 1984; its path came within 12 miles, and it killed 1 person. Of the 84, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 32 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on July 28, 2023. Hales Corners has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 58% of the 416 Wisconsin cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 204 times since 1956, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Hales Corners has more hail reports within 10 miles than 98% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
Compare Hales Corners's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Hales Corners
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 16 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 Hales Corners: 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 Hales Corners
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s13
- 2000s10(1 EF3+)
- 1990s2
- 1980s17(1 EF3+)
- 1970s13(1 EF3+)
- 1960s12
- 1950s8
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 1984 | F4 | 12 mi | 6.5 mi | 1 / 14 |
| Jan 7, 2008 | EF3 | 24 mi | 10.78 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Jun 5, 1977 | F3 | 3 mi | 69.5 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jul 22, 2010 | EF2 | 8 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 2010 | EF2 | 18 mi | 5.22 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Jun 15, 1981 | F2 | 21 mi | 28.7 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Aug 4, 1980 | F2 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 1977 | F2 | 9 mi | 9.3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 25, 1975 | F2 | 6 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 28, 1972 | F2 | 11 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 28, 1972 | F2 | 22 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 29, 1969 | F2 | 5 mi | 13.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 84, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Hales Corners
The Storm Prediction Center has 204 hail reports within 10 miles of Hales Corners since 1956, made on 99 separate days. Of these, 103 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on August 2, 2015. The most recent report is from September 22, 2025. May has the most reports, 39.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hales Corners
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hales Corners/Whitnall Park/Bo, WI, 1 mile east of Hales Corners at 774 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 12°F. June is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 38.6 inches over 75 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 159 nights a year. That 38.6 inches is more than at 151 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (92%). West Allis, 5 miles north, has its own station (West Allis, WI): 39.3 inches a year, 0.7 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 12 | 1.8 | 5 |
| Feb | 33 | 15 | 1.9 | 5 |
| Mar | 44 | 24 | 2.1 | 5 |
| Apr | 56 | 35 | 4.1 | 7 |
| May | 68 | 46 | 4.3 | 8 |
| Jun | 78 | 56 | 5.6 | 8 |
| Jul | 83 | 61 | 3.8 | 6 |
| Aug | 81 | 59 | 3.8 | 7 |
| Sep | 74 | 51 | 3.8 | 7 |
| Oct | 62 | 40 | 3.0 | 7 |
| Nov | 47 | 29 | 2.3 | 5 |
| Dec | 35 | 18 | 2.1 | 6 |
| Year | 58 | 37 | 38.6 | 75 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Hales Corners/Whitnall Park/Bo, WI (774 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 Hales Corners
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 232 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hales Corners: 170 thunderstorm wind reports, 21 flash floods, 18 floods, 15 lightning strikes and 8 heavy rain events. They killed 3 people and injured 13, and the NWS estimated $47.9 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on May 31, 1998. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 21. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 362 have had fewer than Hales Corners.
June 13, 2022: flood 6 miles from the centre of Hales Corners — 3 killed.
September 12, 2019: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Hales Corners — 3 injured, $2.5 million damage.
February 11, 1999: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Hales Corners — 3 injured, $25,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Hales Corners's ZIP code 53130 have filed 18 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $755,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 61% 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, 44 have fewer than Hales Corners.
Milwaukee County, which includes Hales Corners, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 7 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Milwaukee County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes; Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for hail and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $342.1 million a year, the highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $101.4 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.