NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Prairie Du Chien, 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 Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 61 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 61
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Prairie Du Chien
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Prairie Du Chien; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 75 miles away. Prairie Du Chien is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. The strongest of the 61 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 30, 1954; its path came within 6 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on May 30, 1985, killed 2 people. Of the 61, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 14 have come since 2000. May and June have had the most tornadoes, 19 each. The most recent tornado was on September 22, 2025. Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 64% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Prairie Du Chien. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 47 times since 1978, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 59% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Prairie Du Chien.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Prairie Du Chien
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Prairie Du Chien: 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 Prairie Du Chien
By decade
- 2020s3(1 EF3+)
- 2010s8
- 2000s3
- 1990s10
- 1980s12(1 EF3+)
- 1970s8
- 1960s11
- 1950s6(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 1954 | F4 | 6 mi | 80.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1985 | F3 | 9 mi | 34 mi | 2 / 27 |
| Aug 7, 2021 | EF3 | 21 mi | 9.38 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1953 | F3 | 8 mi | 6.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 4, 2012 | EF2 | 11 mi | 0.72 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 1990 | F2 | 13 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1988 | F2 | 14 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 29, 1987 | F2 | 23 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1980 | F2 | 4 mi | 70.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 1969 | F2 | 19 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 25, 1965 | F2 | 9 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 4, 1964 | F2 | 15 mi | 12.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 61, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Prairie Du Chien
The Storm Prediction Center has 47 hail reports within 10 miles of Prairie Du Chien since 1978, made on 30 separate days. Of these, 25 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on August 18, 1978. The most recent report is from April 18, 2025. May and June have the most reports, 14 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Prairie Du Chien
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Prairie Du Chien, WI, 1 mile northwest of Prairie Du Chien at 658 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 27°F and 10°F. June is the wettest at 5.8 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.2 inches; the year adds up to 37.8 inches over 69 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 148 nights a year. Snowfall averages 33.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 37.8 inches is more than at 143 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (87%). Monona, IA, 13 miles west, has its own station (Postville, IA): 39.0 inches a year, 1.2 more than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 10 | 1.2 | 4 | 9.0 |
| Feb | 32 | 13 | 1.3 | 4 | 8.6 |
| Mar | 45 | 25 | 2.1 | 5 | 4.3 |
| Apr | 59 | 37 | 4.0 | 7 | 1.4 |
| May | 70 | 48 | 4.7 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 59 | 5.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 63 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 61 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 52 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 40 | 2.7 | 5 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 46 | 28 | 2.1 | 4 | 1.5 |
| Dec | 33 | 17 | 1.6 | 4 | 8.8 |
| Year | 58 | 38 | 37.8 | 69 | 33.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Prairie Du Chien, WI (658 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 Prairie Du Chien
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 125 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Prairie Du Chien: 54 thunderstorm wind reports, 40 floods, 26 flash floods and 5 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $22.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 19, 1998. June has had the most flash floods, 8 of 26. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 367 have had fewer than Prairie Du Chien.
May 31, 1998: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Prairie Du Chien — 1 injured, $30,000 damage.
June 18, 1998: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Prairie Du Chien — 1 injured, $18,000 damage.
NWS: “A woman suffered a broken leg when a tree fell on the lodge she was staying in.”
July 21, 2017: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Prairie Du Chien — $12.2 million damage.
NWS: “After heavy rains of 4 to 8 inches, flash flooding occurred across the southern half of Clayton County. Flooding along Roberts and Dry Mill Creeks washed out County Road C1X east of Elkader.”
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 Prairie Du Chien's ZIP code 53821 have filed 64 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $337,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Severe flooding in 2001: 27 claims (42% of all) and $188,000. 50% 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, 106 have fewer than Prairie Du Chien.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Severe flooding2001 | 27 | $188,000 |
Crawford County, which includes Prairie Du Chien, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 7 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 Crawford County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.3 million a year, the 52nd highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.8 million (55%), 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 Prairie Du Chien
- Monona, IA13 mi
- Guttenberg, IA19 mi
- Boscobel, WI22 mi
- Postville, IA22 mi
- Waukon, IA24 mi
- Fennimore, WI25 mi
- Lancaster, WI25 mi
- Strawberry Point, IA31 mi
- Potosi, WI32 mi
- Muscoda, WI35 mi
- West Union, IA36 mi
- Viroqua, WI37 mi
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