NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Port Washington, 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 Port Washington, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 35 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 35
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Port Washington
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Port Washington; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 59 mph winds when its centre passed 45 miles away. Port Washington 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 35 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 4, 1981, came within 16 miles. Of the 35, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 13 have come since 2000. July and August have had the most tornadoes, 10 each. The most recent tornado was on August 28, 2018. Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 90% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Port Washington. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 60 times since 1961, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Port Washington has more hail reports within 10 miles than 56% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
Compare Port Washington's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Port Washington
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 45 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 Port Washington: 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 Port Washington
By decade
- 2010s6
- 2000s7
- 1990s4
- 1980s7(1 EF3+)
- 1970s4(1 EF3+)
- 1960s6(1 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 1981 | F4 | 16 mi | 1.8 mi | 3 / 53 |
| Aug 22, 1964 | F4 | 3 mi | 2.2 mi | 0 / 30 |
| Jun 5, 1977 | F3 | 25 mi | 69.5 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jun 1, 2000 | F2 | 25 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 4, 1980 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 7, 1980 | F2 | 20 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 2, 1977 | F2 | 24 mi | 9.3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 21, 1968 | F2 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 3, 1964 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 7, 1958 | F2 | 20 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Aug 28, 2018 | EF1 | 20 mi | 5.33 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 16, 2008 | EF1 | 25 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 35, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Port Washington
The Storm Prediction Center has 60 hail reports within 10 miles of Port Washington since 1961, made on 40 separate days. Of these, 29 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 7, 2020. The most recent report is from May 7, 2024. April has the most reports, 18.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Port Washington
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Port Washington, WI, 1 mile southeast of Port Washington at 594 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 79°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 15°F. June is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.5 inches; the year adds up to 34.0 inches over 66 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 133 nights a year. Snowfall averages 42.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 34.0 inches is more than at 64 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (39%). Saukville, 4 miles west, has its own station (Saukville Wwtp, WI): 35.0 inches a year, 1.0 more than here, and the same July average high, 79°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 15 | 1.8 | 5 | 13.2 |
| Feb | 34 | 16 | 1.5 | 4 | 10.7 |
| Mar | 42 | 25 | 1.9 | 5 | 6.0 |
| Apr | 51 | 35 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.8 |
| May | 61 | 45 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 72 | 55 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 79 | 62 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 78 | 62 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 54 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 59 | 42 | 2.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 46 | 31 | 2.1 | 5 | 0.9 |
| Dec | 36 | 21 | 1.8 | 4 | 10.7 |
| Year | 55 | 38 | 34.0 | 66 | 42.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Port Washington, WI (594 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 Port Washington
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 54 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Port Washington: 40 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 floods, 3 flash floods, 2 lightning strikes and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $4.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on May 21, 2004.
May 31, 1998: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Port Washington — 4 injured, $3.8 million damage.
June 28, 2008: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Port Washington — 2 injured, $500 damage.
May 21, 2004: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Port Washington — $150,000 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
Ozaukee County, which includes Port Washington, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Ozaukee County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $33.1 million a year, the 25th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $17.3 million (52%), 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.