NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Iron Ridge, 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 Iron Ridge, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 127 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 127
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
9 deaths in all
What the records show for Iron Ridge
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Iron Ridge; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 53 miles away. Iron Ridge is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. The strongest of the 127 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on July 18, 1996; its path came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 4, 1981, killed 3 people. Of the 127, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 53 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 35. The most recent tornado was on July 16, 2025. Iron Ridge has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 92% of the 416 Wisconsin cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 73 times since 1962, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Iron Ridge has more hail reports within 10 miles than 65% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
Compare Iron Ridge's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Iron Ridge
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 53 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 Iron Ridge: 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 Iron Ridge
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s15
- 2000s23(2 EF3+)
- 1990s6(1 EF3+)
- 1980s31(3 EF3+)
- 1970s17(3 EF3+)
- 1960s15
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 1996 | F5 | 21 mi | 13.3 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Apr 4, 1981 | F4 | 17 mi | 1.8 mi | 3 / 53 |
| Apr 21, 1974 | F3 | 11 mi | 58.6 mi | 2 / 18 |
| Jun 23, 2004 | F3 | 22 mi | 7.6 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Jun 23, 2004 | F3 | 12 mi | 33.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1980 | F3 | 22 mi | 10.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 7, 1980 | F3 | 23 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 5, 1977 | F3 | 5 mi | 69.5 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Apr 21, 1974 | F3 | 14 mi | 22.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F2 | 16 mi | 14.5 mi | 3 / 28 |
| May 15, 2025 | EF2 | 7 mi | 8.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 2025 | EF2 | 4 mi | 11.48 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 127, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Iron Ridge
The Storm Prediction Center has 73 hail reports within 10 miles of Iron Ridge since 1962, made on 52 separate days. Of these, 42 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2 inches (hen egg size), fell on May 21, 1987. The most recent report is from July 8, 2025. April has the most reports, 13.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Iron Ridge
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Horicon Wwtp, WI, 6 miles northwest of Iron Ridge at 881 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 25°F and 9°F. June is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.3 inches; the year adds up to 35.4 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 6 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 155 nights a year. Snowfall averages 40.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 35.4 inches is more than at 102 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (62%). Allenton, 10 miles northeast, has its own station (Hartford Wwtp, WI): 34.1 inches a year, 1.3 less than here, and the same July average high, 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25 | 9 | 1.5 | 4 | 10.9 |
| Feb | 30 | 11 | 1.3 | 4 | 10.1 |
| Mar | 41 | 23 | 1.9 | 5 | 5.2 |
| Apr | 55 | 34 | 3.8 | 7 | 1.7 |
| May | 67 | 46 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 76 | 56 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 80 | 60 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 78 | 58 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 50 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 58 | 38 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 44 | 27 | 1.9 | 4 | 2.3 |
| Dec | 31 | 16 | 1.7 | 4 | 10.2 |
| Year | 55 | 36 | 35.4 | 69 | 40.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Horicon Wwtp, WI (881 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 Iron Ridge
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 101 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Iron Ridge: 89 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 floods, 3 lightning strikes, 1 flash flood and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 10, and the NWS estimated $5.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 128 mph, on May 31, 1998.
May 31, 1998: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Iron Ridge — 8 injured, $3.7 million damage.
July 12, 2008: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Iron Ridge — 1 injured, $100,000 damage.
May 22, 2011: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Iron Ridge — 1 injured, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “Numerous trees and power lines were reported blown down by damaging thunderstorm wind gusts in the Hustisford area. A tree fell on a home damaging the roof.”
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 Iron Ridge, 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.