NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Osceola, 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 Osceola, Wisconsin since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 89 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 89
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
14 deaths in all
What the records show for Osceola
The highest rating among the 89 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 6, 1965, came within 23 miles. Of the 89, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 48 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 36. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Osceola has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 61% of the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 59 times since 1962, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Osceola has more hail reports within 10 miles than 55% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Osceola
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s20(1 EF3+)
- 2000s23(1 EF3+)
- 1990s15
- 1980s5
- 1970s4(1 EF3+)
- 1960s9(1 EF3+)
- 1950s8(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 23 mi | 17.3 mi | 6 / 158 |
| May 21, 1957 | F4 | 22 mi | 9.2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 23, 1952 | F3 | 8 mi | 18.2 mi | 2 / 6 |
| May 16, 2017 | EF3 | 24 mi | 82.53 mi | 1 / 25 |
| May 25, 2008 | EF3 | 17 mi | 5.96 mi | 1 / 17 |
| Jul 30, 1977 | F3 | 22 mi | 9.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 1958 | F3 | 17 mi | 59.4 mi | 0 / 12 |
| May 10, 1953 | F2 | 12 mi | 105.7 mi | 4 / 27 |
| May 15, 2025 | EF2 | 18 mi | 3.94 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 1994 | F2 | 18 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 12, 1967 | F2 | 3 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 10, 1966 | F2 | 15 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 89, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Osceola
The Storm Prediction Center has 59 hail reports within 10 miles of Osceola since 1962, made on 39 separate days. Of these, 28 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 25, 2008. The most recent report is from June 19, 2025. June has the most reports, 19.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Osceola
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is St Croix Falls, WI, 8 miles north of Osceola at 750 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 23°F and 3°F. July is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 30.5 inches over 59 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 169 nights a year. Snowfall averages 42.6 inches a year, most of it in December. That 30.5 inches is more than at 10 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (6%). Star Prairie, 7 miles southeast, has its own station (Amery, WI): 34.6 inches a year, 4.1 more than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23 | 3 | 0.6 | 2 | 7.7 |
| Feb | 28 | 5 | 0.8 | 3 | 9.6 |
| Mar | 41 | 19 | 1.3 | 4 | 5.7 |
| Apr | 55 | 33 | 2.7 | 6 | 1.2 |
| May | 68 | 46 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 56 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 61 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 59 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 50 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 58 | 38 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.8 |
| Nov | 42 | 25 | 1.4 | 3 | 6.7 |
| Dec | 28 | 11 | 1.1 | 3 | 10.9 |
| Year | 55 | 34 | 30.5 | 59 | 42.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at St Croix Falls, WI (750 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 Osceola
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 75 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Osceola: 73 thunderstorm wind reports, 1 flash flood and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $398,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 74 mph, on May 9, 2022.
June 11, 2017: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Osceola — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “There were multiple reports of downed trees, power lines and vehicles blown off the road across portions of southern and central Polk County. This includes the towns of Osceola, Amery, Alden, Farmington, St.”
July 12, 2017: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Osceola — $100,000 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
Polk County, which includes Osceola, has been named in 10 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 2 severe storms, 2 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Polk County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $23.0 million a year, the 37th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.7 million (33%), 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 Osceola
- Dresser, WI4 mi
- Shafer, MN7 mi
- Star Prairie, WI7 mi
- Scandia, MN9 mi
- Somerset, WI11 mi
- Marine On Saint Croix, MN11 mi
- Lindstrom, MN11 mi
- Saint Croix Falls, WI12 mi
- Centuria, WI12 mi
- Chisago City, MN13 mi
- Amery, WI13 mi
- New Richmond, WI13 mi
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