NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit La Farge, 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 La Farge, Wisconsin since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 54 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 54
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for La Farge
The highest rating among the 54 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 5, 1980, came within 13 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on August 12, 1985, killed 2 people. Of the 54, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 18 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 14. The most recent tornado was on June 26, 2025. Of the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site, 77% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than La Farge. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 33 times since 1963, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 79% have more hail reports within 10 miles than La Farge.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of La Farge
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s4
- 2000s7
- 1990s3
- 1980s6(1 EF3+)
- 1970s9
- 1960s15
- 1950s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 5, 1980 | F3 | 13 mi | 26.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 19, 1957 | F3 | 13 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 12, 1985 | F2 | 17 mi | 22 mi | 2 / 22 |
| Jun 15, 2022 | EF2 | 20 mi | 22.86 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 18, 2005 | F2 | 7 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 8, 1988 | F2 | 20 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1988 | F2 | 12 mi | 27 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1980 | F2 | 22 mi | 70.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 1979 | F2 | 13 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 1967 | F2 | 22 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1966 | F2 | 15 mi | 8.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1964 | F2 | 6 mi | 20.3 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 54, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in La Farge
The Storm Prediction Center has 33 hail reports within 10 miles of La Farge since 1963, made on 25 separate days. Of these, 17 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 14, 1974. The most recent report is from May 15, 2025. May has the most reports, 10.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in La Farge
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cashton, WI, 12 miles northwest of La Farge at 1,370 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 11°F. June is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 35.0 inches over 67 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 148 nights a year. Snowfall averages 54.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 35.0 inches is more than at 93 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (56%). Hillsboro, 11 miles east, has its own station (Hillsboro, WI): 37.3 inches a year, 2.3 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 11 | 1.1 | 4 | 15.4 |
| Feb | 29 | 14 | 0.9 | 2 | 11.5 |
| Mar | 41 | 25 | 1.5 | 4 | 9.9 |
| Apr | 56 | 37 | 3.5 | 7 | 3.8 |
| May | 68 | 48 | 4.4 | 9 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 77 | 59 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 63 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 61 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 53 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 57 | 41 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 42 | 28 | 2.0 | 5 | 5.4 |
| Dec | 29 | 17 | 1.3 | 3 | 8.2 |
| Year | 55 | 38 | 35.0 | 67 | 54.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Cashton, WI (1,370 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 La Farge
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 121 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of La Farge: 66 floods, 37 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 flash floods and 8 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $27.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on July 26, 1997. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 269 have had fewer than La Farge.
July 26, 2020: heavy rain event 8 miles from the centre of La Farge — 1 killed, $20,000 damage.
NWS: “One person was killed in a single vehicle accident east of Liberty. The accident occurred during a thunderstorm with heavy rain.”
August 28, 2018: flood 8 miles from the centre of La Farge — $6.5 million damage.
NWS: “Runoff from heavy rain created historic flooding along the Kickapoo River in Viola. 72 feet, which was over 9 feet above the flood stage.”
July 20, 2017: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of La Farge — $3.4 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rains, with totals of 6 to 8 inches, produced flash flooding across the central and eastern sections of Richland County.”
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 La Farge's ZIP code 54639 have filed 36 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $1.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Storm in 2008: 14 claims (39% of all) and $177,000. 39% 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, 79 have fewer than La Farge.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Storm2008 | 14 | $177,000 |
Vernon County, which includes La Farge, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 8 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Vernon County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $25.3 million a year, the 31st highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $9.8 million (39%), 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 La Farge
- Hillsboro, WI11 mi
- Westby, WI12 mi
- Cashton, WI13 mi
- Viroqua, WI15 mi
- Wilton, WI17 mi
- Wonewoc, WI19 mi
- Elroy, WI19 mi
- Richland Center, WI20 mi
- La Valle, WI24 mi
- Bangor, WI26 mi
- Sparta, WI27 mi
- Tomah, WI27 mi
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