NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Kenosha, 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 Kenosha, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 58 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 58
- 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 Kenosha
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Kenosha; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 59 mph winds when its centre passed 10 miles away. Kenosha is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. The strongest of the 58 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on September 28, 1972; its path came within 15 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on October 8, 1958, killed 1 person. Of the 58, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 20 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 12. The most recent tornado was on June 22, 2024. Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 70% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Kenosha. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 79 times since 1959, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Kenosha has more hail reports within 10 miles than 70% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Kenosha
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 10 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 Kenosha: 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 Kenosha
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s7
- 2000s8(1 EF3+)
- 1990s5
- 1980s7
- 1970s13(1 EF3+)
- 1960s7(1 EF3+)
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 28, 1972 | F4 | 15 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Jan 7, 2008 | EF3 | 14 mi | 10.78 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Jul 19, 1963 | F3 | 20 mi | 10.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 8, 1958 | F2 | 14 mi | 81 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 18, 1997 | F2 | 14 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1996 | F2 | 9 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 20, 1976 | F2 | 9 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 28, 1972 | F2 | 21 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 29, 1969 | F2 | 22 mi | 13.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 21, 1966 | F2 | 12 mi | 33.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F2 | 15 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 8, 1959 | F2 | 17 mi | 2.2 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 58, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Kenosha
The Storm Prediction Center has 79 hail reports within 10 miles of Kenosha since 1959, made on 48 separate days. Of these, 47 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on June 23, 1960. The most recent report is from May 15, 2025. May has the most reports, 31.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Kenosha
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Kenosha, WI, 3 miles southeast of Kenosha at 600 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 17°F. April is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 37.5 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 7 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 122 nights a year. Snowfall averages 36.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 37.5 inches is more than at 137 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (83%). Winthrop Harbor, IL, 7 miles south, has its own station (Chicago Waukegan Regional Airport, IL): 35.5 inches a year, 2.0 less than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 17 | 1.9 | 5 | 11.3 |
| Feb | 34 | 20 | 1.8 | 4 | 9.8 |
| Mar | 43 | 29 | 2.7 | 6 | 5.7 |
| Apr | 53 | 37 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.8 |
| May | 64 | 47 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 73 | 57 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 80 | 64 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 64 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 56 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 45 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 47 | 33 | 2.4 | 5 | 1.5 |
| Dec | 36 | 23 | 2.2 | 5 | 7.0 |
| Year | 56 | 41 | 37.5 | 71 | 36.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Kenosha, WI (600 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 Kenosha
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 113 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Kenosha: 85 thunderstorm wind reports, 14 flash floods, 7 floods, 4 heavy rain events and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $17.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on July 12, 2014. July has had the most flash floods, 4 of 14. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 334 have had fewer than Kenosha.
June 30, 2011: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Kenosha — 1 killed, 3 injured, $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Law enforcement officials reported numerous trees and power lines down across far eastern Kenosha County from severe thunderstorm winds that gusted up to 75 mph (65 knots) as estimated by a trained spotter. A 31-year-old man riding a motorcycle was killed when a tree blew over on him in the 7600 block of 25th Avenue.”
August 7, 2007: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Kenosha — 1 killed, 1 injured.
June 19, 2009: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Kenosha — $12.5 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rains resluted in flash flooding in the southeast part of Kenosha County. Numerous streets were flooded with water depths of 2 to 4 feet , and several were impassable.”
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 Kenosha's 4 ZIP codes have filed 30 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $340,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 3% 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, 69 have fewer than Kenosha.
Kenosha County, which includes Kenosha, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 4 floods, 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 Kenosha County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $63.5 million a year, the 9th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $19.5 million (31%), 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 Kenosha
- Pleasant Prairie, WI4 mi
- Winthrop Harbor, IL7 mi
- Zion, IL9 mi
- Mount Pleasant, WI10 mi
- Bristol, WI10 mi
- Racine, WI11 mi
- Wadsworth, IL11 mi
- Union Grove, WI13 mi
- Salem, WI14 mi
- Waukegan, IL14 mi
- Franksville, WI15 mi
- Antioch, IL15 mi
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