NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hayward, 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 Hayward, Wisconsin since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 12 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 12
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Hayward
The highest rating among the 12 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 30, 1968, came within 23 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on May 10, 1953, killed 4 people. Of the 12, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and one has come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 4. The most recent tornado was on July 18, 2019. Of the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site, 99% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Hayward. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 96 times since 1972, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Hayward has more hail reports within 10 miles than 79% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Hayward
By decade
- 2010s1
- 1990s6
- 1980s1
- 1970s1
- 1960s2
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 10, 1953 | F2 | 24 mi | 105.7 mi | 4 / 27 |
| Jun 30, 1968 | F2 | 23 mi | 39 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 18, 2019 | EF1 | 23 mi | 1.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 1992 | F1 | 10 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 1992 | F1 | 9 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1985 | F1 | 23 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 21, 1971 | F1 | 15 mi | 6.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 10, 1966 | F1 | 7 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1999 | F0 | 24 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 12, 1998 | F0 | 24 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 12, 1998 | F0 | 13 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 12, 1998 | F0 | 16 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 12, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Hayward
The Storm Prediction Center has 96 hail reports within 10 miles of Hayward since 1972, made on 47 separate days. Of these, 64 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on June 8, 1985. The most recent report is from June 21, 2025. June has the most reports, 23.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hayward
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hayward Municipal Airport, WI, 5 miles west of Hayward at 1,204 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 55°F; January is the coolest, at 22°F and 2°F. July is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 31.5 inches over 61 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 187 nights a year. That 31.5 inches is more than at 17 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (10%). Minong, 25 miles west, has its own station (Gordon, WI): 33.6 inches a year, 2.1 more than here, and a July average high of 79°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22 | 2 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Feb | 27 | 5 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Mar | 40 | 17 | 1.6 | 4 |
| Apr | 53 | 29 | 2.7 | 6 |
| May | 67 | 41 | 3.8 | 8 |
| Jun | 76 | 51 | 4.0 | 8 |
| Jul | 80 | 55 | 4.5 | 7 |
| Aug | 78 | 53 | 4.1 | 7 |
| Sep | 69 | 45 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Oct | 55 | 34 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Nov | 39 | 23 | 1.7 | 4 |
| Dec | 27 | 10 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Year | 53 | 30 | 31.5 | 61 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Hayward Municipal Airport, WI (1,204 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 Hayward
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 86 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hayward: 78 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 flash floods, 2 lightning strikes and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $160,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 21, 2016. July has had the most flash floods, 2 of 5. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 168 have had fewer than Hayward.
August 10, 2021: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Hayward — 4 injured.
NWS: “Four family members visiting the Hayward area from southern Wisconsin were golfing at the Big Fish Golf Club the morning of the tenth. Storms were developing in the area at that time and one of these storms produced a lightning bolt that hit near the 5th hole's tee box where the four were standing.”
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
Sawyer County, which includes Hayward, has been named in 9 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1976, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Sawyer County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and inland flooding; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $23.4 million a year, the 36th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.8 million (29%), 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 Hayward
- Minong, WI25 mi
- Birchwood, WI25 mi
- Solon Springs, WI30 mi
- Spooner, WI30 mi
- Shell Lake, WI35 mi
- Iron River, WI38 mi
- Rice Lake, WI38 mi
- Bruce, WI38 mi
- Ladysmith, WI38 mi
- Danbury, WI42 mi
- Ashland, WI45 mi
- Cameron, WI45 mi
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