NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Randolph, 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 Randolph, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 131 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 131
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Randolph
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Randolph; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 68 miles away. Randolph is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. The strongest of the 131 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on July 18, 1996; its path came within 22 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on April 21, 1974, killed 2 people. Of the 131, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 59 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 40. The most recent tornado was on July 16, 2025. Randolph has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 94% of the 416 Wisconsin cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 51 times since 1965, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 53% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Randolph.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Randolph
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Randolph: 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 Randolph
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s21
- 2000s29(2 EF3+)
- 1990s17(1 EF3+)
- 1980s24(2 EF3+)
- 1970s17(5 EF3+)
- 1960s9
- 1950s5(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 1996 | F5 | 22 mi | 13.3 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Sep 26, 1951 | F4 | 4 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Apr 21, 1974 | F4 | 17 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 35 |
| Apr 21, 1974 | F3 | 13 mi | 58.6 mi | 2 / 18 |
| Jun 23, 2004 | F3 | 9 mi | 7.6 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Jun 23, 2004 | F3 | 11 mi | 33.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 1984 | F3 | 5 mi | 29 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 7, 1980 | F3 | 5 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 5, 1977 | F3 | 21 mi | 69.5 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jun 4, 1975 | F3 | 23 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 21, 1974 | F3 | 13 mi | 22.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 2025 | EF2 | 21 mi | 8.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 131, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Randolph
The Storm Prediction Center has 51 hail reports within 10 miles of Randolph since 1965, made on 35 separate days. Of these, 25 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on August 3, 2004. The most recent report is from May 15, 2025. May has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Randolph
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Town Of Westford, WI, 8 miles southeast of Randolph at 879 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 25°F and 8°F. June is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 37.8 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 157 nights a year. That 37.8 inches is more than at 140 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (85%). Cambria, 6 miles west, has its own station (Dalton, WI): 36.3 inches a year, 1.5 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25 | 8 | 1.6 | 5 |
| Feb | 29 | 11 | 1.7 | 5 |
| Mar | 41 | 22 | 2.4 | 6 |
| Apr | 55 | 34 | 3.8 | 8 |
| May | 68 | 47 | 4.4 | 8 |
| Jun | 78 | 56 | 5.0 | 8 |
| Jul | 81 | 60 | 4.1 | 6 |
| Aug | 79 | 58 | 3.8 | 6 |
| Sep | 72 | 50 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Oct | 59 | 39 | 3.1 | 7 |
| Nov | 44 | 27 | 2.3 | 5 |
| Dec | 31 | 15 | 2.0 | 6 |
| Year | 55 | 36 | 37.8 | 74 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Town Of Westford, WI (879 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 Randolph
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 77 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Randolph: 68 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 flash floods, 1 flood and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $870,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on July 21, 2016. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 217 have had fewer than Randolph.
July 30, 2011: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Randolph — 5 injured.
June 17, 2001: lightning strike 1 mile from the centre of Randolph — $100,000 damage.
April 17, 2004: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Randolph — $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
Columbia County, which includes Randolph, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1976, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Columbia County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for hail; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for lightning; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $51.4 million a year, the 12th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $20.5 million (40%), is from hail.
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 Randolph
- Fox Lake, WI6 mi
- Cambria, WI6 mi
- Fall River, WI10 mi
- Beaver Dam, WI10 mi
- Markesan, WI13 mi
- Rio, WI14 mi
- Columbus, WI14 mi
- Waupun, WI15 mi
- Pardeeville, WI16 mi
- Brandon, WI17 mi
- Juneau, WI19 mi
- Horicon, WI20 mi
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