NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Prescott, 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 Prescott, Wisconsin since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 104 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 104
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
27 deaths in all
What the records show for Prescott
The strongest of the 104 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 4, 1958; its path came within 24 miles, and it killed 21 people. Of the 104, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 54 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 29. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Prescott has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 74% of the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 80 times since 1968, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Prescott has more hail reports within 10 miles than 71% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Prescott
By decade
- 2020s16
- 2010s20
- 2000s18
- 1990s13
- 1980s12(2 EF3+)
- 1970s7
- 1960s11
- 1950s7(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 4, 1958 | F5 | 24 mi | 33.7 mi | 21 / 74 |
| Jun 14, 1981 | F3 | 21 mi | 16.2 mi | 1 / 83 |
| Jul 27, 1987 | F3 | 13 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 1958 | F3 | 16 mi | 59.4 mi | 0 / 12 |
| May 10, 1953 | F2 | 8 mi | 105.7 mi | 4 / 27 |
| May 15, 2025 | EF2 | 23 mi | 3.94 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 2010 | EF2 | 21 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 2010 | EF2 | 10 mi | 15.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 9, 2001 | F2 | 19 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F2 | 24 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 26, 1994 | F2 | 22 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Oct 3, 1979 | F2 | 16 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 104, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Prescott
The Storm Prediction Center has 80 hail reports within 10 miles of Prescott since 1968, made on 54 separate days. Of these, 45 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 2 days, most recently June 20, 2007. The most recent report is from September 19, 2024. June has the most reports, 21.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Prescott
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Hastings Dam 2, MN, 4 miles west of Prescott at 680 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 6°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 33.2 inches over 66 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 8 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 150 nights a year. That 33.2 inches is more than at 45 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (27%). Afton, MN, 11 miles north, has its own station (Stillwater 1 SE, MN): 35.2 inches a year, 2.0 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 6 | 0.9 | 3 |
| Feb | 29 | 9 | 0.9 | 2 |
| Mar | 41 | 22 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Apr | 56 | 36 | 3.1 | 7 |
| May | 69 | 48 | 4.3 | 8 |
| Jun | 79 | 59 | 4.9 | 9 |
| Jul | 83 | 63 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Aug | 81 | 61 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Sep | 73 | 53 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Oct | 59 | 40 | 2.6 | 6 |
| Nov | 43 | 27 | 1.7 | 4 |
| Dec | 30 | 14 | 1.2 | 4 |
| Year | 56 | 36 | 33.2 | 66 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Hastings Dam 2, MN (680 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 Prescott
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 91 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Prescott: 76 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 flash floods, 6 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $2.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 98 mph, on May 19, 1996. July has had the most flash floods, 3 of 8. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 239 have had fewer than Prescott.
June 14, 2008: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Prescott — 2 injured.
May 19, 1996: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Prescott — $1.0 million damage.
May 19, 1996: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Prescott — $800,000 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 Prescott's ZIP code 54021 have filed 35 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $241,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1997, with 10. 29% 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, 78 have fewer than Prescott.
Pierce County, which includes Prescott, 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 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Pierce County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $18.8 million a year, the 44th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.9 million (48%), 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 Prescott
- Hastings, MN4 mi
- Cottage Grove, MN9 mi
- Afton, MN11 mi
- River Falls, WI11 mi
- St Paul Park, MN12 mi
- Lakeland, MN12 mi
- Woodbury, MN13 mi
- Newport, MN14 mi
- Hager City, WI14 mi
- Inver Grove Heights, MN14 mi
- Ellsworth, WI16 mi
- Hudson, WI16 mi
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