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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Jefferson, WI

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

1 tropical system has passed within 75 miles of Jefferson, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 124 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
1

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
124

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
5

6 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Jefferson

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Jefferson, Wisconsin, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1129 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Jefferson: 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 Jefferson

By decade

  • 2020s25
  • 2010s13
  • 2000s20(1 EF3+)
  • 1990s11(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s19(2 EF3+)
  • 1970s18
  • 1960s13(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s5
Strongest tornadoes near Jefferson, Wisconsin
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Apr 27, 1984F421 mi6.5 mi1 / 14
Aug 18, 2005F310 mi18.6 mi1 / 23
Jun 17, 1992F324 mi16 mi0 / 30
Jun 5, 1980F39 mi10.7 mi0 / 0
Jan 24, 1967F318 mi24.9 mi0 / 0
Apr 11, 1965F25 mi14.5 mi3 / 28
Mar 27, 1991F2in town32 mi1 / 5
Feb 8, 2024EF27 mi25.9 mi0 / 1
Jun 21, 2010EF217 mi5.22 mi0 / 15
Jun 25, 1998F224 mi2.5 mi0 / 0
May 8, 1988F27 mi27 mi0 / 0
Sep 28, 1986F29 mi9 mi0 / 1

The strongest 12 of 124, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Jefferson while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

Other cities in Wisconsin