NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Jackson, 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 Jackson, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 86 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 86
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for Jackson
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Jackson; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 59 mph winds when its centre passed 43 miles away. Jackson 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 86 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 27, 1984, came within 17 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 4, 1981, killed 3 people. Of the 86, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 28 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on July 16, 2025. Jackson has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 59% of the 416 Wisconsin cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 108 times since 1957, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Jackson has more hail reports within 10 miles than 83% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
Compare Jackson's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Jackson
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 43 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 Jackson: 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 Jackson
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s7
- 2000s11(1 EF3+)
- 1990s5
- 1980s22(2 EF3+)
- 1970s11(2 EF3+)
- 1960s17(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 1981 | F4 | 8 mi | 1.8 mi | 3 / 53 |
| Apr 27, 1984 | F4 | 17 mi | 6.5 mi | 1 / 14 |
| Aug 22, 1964 | F4 | 13 mi | 2.2 mi | 0 / 30 |
| Apr 21, 1974 | F3 | 25 mi | 58.6 mi | 2 / 18 |
| Jun 23, 2004 | F3 | 20 mi | 33.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1977 | F3 | 10 mi | 69.5 mi | 0 / 8 |
| May 15, 2025 | EF2 | 21 mi | 8.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 2025 | EF2 | 22 mi | 11.48 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 1, 2000 | F2 | 11 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 1986 | F2 | 21 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1981 | F2 | 21 mi | 28.7 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Aug 4, 1980 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 86, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Jackson
The Storm Prediction Center has 108 hail reports within 10 miles of Jackson since 1957, made on 67 separate days. Of these, 60 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 7, 2020. The most recent report is from May 15, 2025. April and May have the most reports, 25 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Jackson
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Jackson, WI, in Jackson at 903 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 28°F and 13°F. June and July are the wettest at 4.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.4 inches; the year adds up to 32.7 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 10 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 146 nights a year. That 32.7 inches is more than at 36 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (22%). West Bend, 7 miles north, has its own station (West Bend, WI): 33.4 inches a year, 0.7 more than here, and the same July average high, 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 13 | 1.4 | 4 |
| Feb | 32 | 15 | 1.6 | 4 |
| Mar | 42 | 25 | 1.8 | 5 |
| Apr | 54 | 35 | 3.5 | 7 |
| May | 67 | 46 | 3.4 | 7 |
| Jun | 77 | 55 | 4.0 | 7 |
| Jul | 82 | 60 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Aug | 80 | 59 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Sep | 73 | 52 | 3.0 | 7 |
| Oct | 61 | 40 | 2.8 | 7 |
| Nov | 46 | 29 | 2.0 | 4 |
| Dec | 34 | 19 | 1.9 | 5 |
| Year | 56 | 37 | 32.7 | 69 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Jackson, WI (903 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 Jackson
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 122 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Jackson: 98 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 flash floods, 9 lightning strikes, 4 floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 2 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $32.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 105 mph, on May 31, 1998. August has had the most flash floods, 7 of 10. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 269 have had fewer than Jackson.
May 31, 1998: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Jackson — 1 killed, 2 injured, $8.7 million damage.
August 10, 2025: flood 6 miles from the centre of Jackson — 1 killed, 1 injured, $1.0 million damage.
June 28, 2008: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Jackson — 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
Washington County, which includes Jackson, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1976, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Washington 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 $48.4 million a year, the 13th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $20.0 million (41%), 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.