NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Onalaska, 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 Onalaska, Wisconsin since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 60 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 60
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Onalaska
The highest rating among the 60 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on June 5, 1980, came within 16 miles. Of the 60, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 28 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 16. The most recent tornado was on June 25, 2025. Of the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site, 66% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Onalaska. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 203 times since 1959, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Onalaska has more hail reports within 10 miles than 97% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
Compare Onalaska's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Onalaska
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s10
- 2000s8
- 1990s8
- 1980s6(1 EF3+)
- 1970s5
- 1960s10(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 5, 1980 | F3 | 16 mi | 26.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 5, 1965 | F3 | 1 mi | 65.2 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 26, 1959 | F3 | 12 mi | 34.3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 22, 2011 | EF2 | 7 mi | 13.79 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1988 | F2 | 25 mi | 27 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 26, 1986 | F2 | 18 mi | 5.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1980 | F2 | 13 mi | 70.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 1971 | F2 | 19 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 4, 1964 | F2 | 21 mi | 9.7 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 14, 1961 | F2 | 7 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 28, 1960 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1957 | F2 | 6 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 60, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Onalaska
The Storm Prediction Center has 203 hail reports within 10 miles of Onalaska since 1959, made on 95 separate days. Of these, 118 were 1 inch across or larger, and 23 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on July 28, 2023. The most recent report is from September 21, 2024. July has the most reports, 58.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Onalaska
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is La Crosse Municipal Airport, WI, 2 miles southwest of Onalaska at 652 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 65°F; January is the coolest, at 27°F and 11°F. June is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.2 inches; the year adds up to 35.3 inches over 68 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 17 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 141 nights a year. Snowfall averages 46.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 35.3 inches is more than at 101 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (61%). La Crosse, 6 miles south, has its own station (La Crosse WFO, WI): 37.4 inches a year, 2.1 more than here, and a July average high of 80°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 11 | 1.3 | 4 | 11.8 |
| Feb | 33 | 14 | 1.2 | 3 | 9.7 |
| Mar | 46 | 26 | 2.0 | 5 | 7.3 |
| Apr | 60 | 38 | 3.8 | 7 | 2.9 |
| May | 72 | 50 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 82 | 60 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 65 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 62 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 54 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 42 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 46 | 30 | 1.9 | 4 | 3.4 |
| Dec | 33 | 18 | 1.5 | 4 | 10.9 |
| Year | 59 | 39 | 35.3 | 68 | 46.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at La Crosse Municipal Airport, WI (652 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 Onalaska
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 349 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Onalaska: 241 thunderstorm wind reports, 61 floods, 22 heavy rain events, 15 lightning strikes and 10 flash floods. They killed 1 person and injured 16, and the NWS estimated $22.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 87 mph, on May 22, 2011. August has had the most flash floods, 6 of 10. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 269 have had fewer than Onalaska.
August 18, 2007: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Onalaska — 1 killed, 2 injured, $3.3 million damage.
June 18, 1998: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Onalaska — 13 injured, $20,000 damage.
August 23, 2011: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Onalaska — 1 injured, $5,000 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 Onalaska's ZIP code 54650 have filed 19 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $83,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 21% 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, 47 have fewer than Onalaska.
La Crosse County, which includes Onalaska, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 6 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives La Crosse County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hail; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $53.7 million a year, the 11th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $19.3 million (36%), 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.