NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Menasha, 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 Menasha, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Cristobal in 2020. Since 1950, 103 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 103
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
10 deaths in all
What the records show for Menasha
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Menasha; the strongest was Cristobal in 2020, a tropical storm with 39 mph winds when its centre passed 62 miles away. Menasha 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 103 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 27, 1984, came within 7 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 3, 1956, killed 7 people. Of the 103, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 56 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 30. The most recent tornado was on May 21, 2024. Menasha has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 73% of the 416 Wisconsin cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 195 times since 1960, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Menasha has more hail reports within 10 miles than 96% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
Compare Menasha's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Menasha
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | CristobalJun 10 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Menasha: 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 Menasha
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s26
- 2000s24
- 1990s8
- 1980s9(1 EF3+)
- 1970s13(2 EF3+)
- 1960s9(1 EF3+)
- 1950s8(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1956 | F4 | 20 mi | 11.5 mi | 7 / 50 |
| Apr 27, 1984 | F4 | 7 mi | 27.5 mi | 1 / 19 |
| Apr 21, 1974 | F4 | 12 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 35 |
| Dec 1, 1970 | F3 | 14 mi | 13.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 26, 1969 | F3 | 20 mi | 15.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 18, 1996 | F2 | 19 mi | 6.4 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Aug 9, 1979 | F2 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Aug 6, 2013 | EF2 | 9 mi | 13.07 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 10, 2011 | EF2 | 7 mi | 1.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 1982 | F2 | 14 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 22, 1970 | F2 | 25 mi | 7.2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 22, 1970 | F2 | 25 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 103, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Menasha
The Storm Prediction Center has 195 hail reports within 10 miles of Menasha since 1960, made on 77 separate days. Of these, 125 were 1 inch across or larger, and 19 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on September 7, 2021. The most recent report is from August 4, 2024. July has the most reports, 51.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Menasha
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Appleton, WI, 5 miles north of Menasha at 792 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 25°F and 10°F. June is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 33.2 inches over 70 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 157 nights a year. Snowfall averages 49.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 33.2 inches is more than at 45 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (27%). Sherwood, 7 miles east, has its own station (Brillion, WI): 32.2 inches a year, 1.0 less than here, and the same July average high, 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25 | 10 | 1.4 | 4 | 12.6 |
| Feb | 29 | 12 | 1.1 | 4 | 11.2 |
| Mar | 41 | 22 | 1.9 | 5 | 7.2 |
| Apr | 54 | 34 | 3.2 | 7 | 4.0 |
| May | 67 | 46 | 3.6 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 77 | 57 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 61 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 60 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 51 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 58 | 39 | 2.8 | 6 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 43 | 28 | 2.1 | 5 | 2.4 |
| Dec | 31 | 17 | 1.8 | 5 | 11.6 |
| Year | 55 | 36 | 33.2 | 70 | 49.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Appleton, WI (792 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 Menasha
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 195 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Menasha: 165 thunderstorm wind reports, 12 heavy rain events, 11 flash floods, 4 floods and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $17.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on April 10, 2011. July has had the most flash floods, 4 of 11. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 293 have had fewer than Menasha.
August 20, 2010: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Menasha — 4 injured.
May 31, 1998: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Menasha — 1 injured, $300,000 damage.
May 3, 2012: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Menasha — 1 injured, $250,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Menasha's ZIP code 54952 have filed 20 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $102,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 20% 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, 50 have fewer than Menasha.
Winnebago County, which includes Menasha, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 2 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Tornadoes, on October 7, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Winnebago County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail and inland flooding; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $75.3 million a year, the 5th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $42.8 million (57%), 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.