NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Princeton, 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 Princeton, Wisconsin since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 117 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 117
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
10 deaths in all
What the records show for Princeton
The highest rating among the 117 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 21, 1974, came within 17 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 3, 1956, killed 7 people. Of the 117, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 50 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 39. The most recent tornado was on May 21, 2024. Princeton has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 86% of the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 45 times since 1963, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 63% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Princeton.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Princeton
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s24
- 2000s22(2 EF3+)
- 1990s28(1 EF3+)
- 1980s18(1 EF3+)
- 1970s6(2 EF3+)
- 1960s7
- 1950s8(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1956 | F4 | 10 mi | 11.5 mi | 7 / 50 |
| Sep 26, 1951 | F4 | 22 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Apr 21, 1974 | F4 | 17 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 35 |
| Jun 23, 2004 | F3 | 15 mi | 7.6 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Aug 29, 1992 | F3 | 19 mi | 28 mi | 1 / 30 |
| Jun 23, 2004 | F3 | 10 mi | 33.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 1984 | F3 | 12 mi | 29 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 5, 1977 | F3 | 20 mi | 69.5 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jun 25, 1950 | F3 | 12 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 2008 | EF2 | 22 mi | 8.63 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jun 23, 2004 | F2 | 8 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 27, 1994 | F2 | 3 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 117, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Princeton
The Storm Prediction Center has 45 hail reports within 10 miles of Princeton since 1963, made on 35 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 August 3, 1997. The most recent report is from May 28, 2012. July has the most reports, 10.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Princeton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Montello, WI, 10 miles southwest of Princeton at 786 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 26°F and 8°F. June is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.3 inches; the year adds up to 36.4 inches over 72 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 160 nights a year. Snowfall averages 42.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 36.4 inches is more than at 123 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (75%). Green Lake, 8 miles east, has its own station (Markesan, WI): 35.8 inches a year, 0.6 less than here, and the same July average high, 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 26 | 8 | 1.4 | 4 | 10.9 |
| Feb | 31 | 11 | 1.3 | 4 | 10.0 |
| Mar | 43 | 22 | 1.9 | 5 | 5.9 |
| Apr | 56 | 34 | 3.7 | 7 | 2.4 |
| May | 69 | 46 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 56 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 60 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 58 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 49 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 59 | 38 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 44 | 26 | 2.1 | 5 | 1.7 |
| Dec | 32 | 15 | 1.7 | 5 | 10.8 |
| Year | 56 | 35 | 36.4 | 72 | 42.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Montello, WI (786 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 Princeton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 62 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Princeton: 59 thunderstorm wind reports and 3 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $248,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on July 10, 2008.
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
Green Lake County, which includes Princeton, has been named in 9 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Green Lake County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.2 million a year, the 53rd highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.0 million (49%), 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 Princeton
- Green Lake, WI8 mi
- Neshkoro, WI9 mi
- Markesan, WI10 mi
- Montello, WI11 mi
- Berlin, WI13 mi
- Ripon, WI15 mi
- Redgranite, WI15 mi
- Wautoma, WI17 mi
- Westfield, WI18 mi
- Brandon, WI19 mi
- Cambria, WI20 mi
- Randolph, WI22 mi
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