NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rhinelander, 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 Rhinelander, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Cristobal in 2020. Since 1950, 43 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 43
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
5 deaths in all
What the records show for Rhinelander
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Rhinelander; the strongest was Cristobal in 2020, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 25 miles away. Rhinelander is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. The strongest of the 43 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 25, 1950; its path passed within a mile of the city centre, and it killed 2 people. The deadliest, an F3 on June 8, 1985, killed 2 people. Of the 43, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 16 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 12. The most recent tornado was on July 27, 2023. Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 86% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Rhinelander. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 54 times since 1963, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 50% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Rhinelander.
Compare Rhinelander's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Rhinelander
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | CristobalJun 10 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Rhinelander: 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 Rhinelander
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s3
- 2000s11
- 1990s4
- 1980s14(2 EF3+)
- 1970s3
- 1960s2
- 1950s4(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 25, 1950 | F4 | in town | 13.1 mi | 2 / 12 |
| Jun 8, 1985 | F3 | in town | 68 mi | 2 / 42 |
| Apr 27, 1984 | F3 | 19 mi | 29 mi | 1 / 8 |
| May 3, 1955 | F3 | 21 mi | 6.8 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 30, 2002 | F2 | 24 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1994 | F2 | 23 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 4, 1986 | F2 | 13 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 1981 | F2 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 1958 | F2 | 25 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 2020 | EF1 | 18 mi | 5.89 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 10, 2011 | EF1 | 15 mi | 5.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 1, 2001 | F1 | 21 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 43, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rhinelander
The Storm Prediction Center has 54 hail reports within 10 miles of Rhinelander since 1963, made on 37 separate days. Of these, 35 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on July 19, 1963. The most recent report is from July 14, 2021. May and July have the most reports, 13 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Rhinelander
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Rhinelander Oneida Airport, WI, 4 miles west of Rhinelander at 1,599 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 54°F; January is the coolest, at 23°F and 4°F. July is the wettest at 4.0 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 29.7 inches over 64 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 4 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 185 nights a year. That 29.7 inches is more than at 5 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (3%). Tomahawk, 19 miles southwest, has its own station (Rice Rsvr Tomahawk-2, WI): 31.7 inches a year, 2.0 more than here, and a July average high of 77°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23 | 4 | 0.8 | 3 |
| Feb | 27 | 6 | 0.8 | 3 |
| Mar | 39 | 17 | 1.5 | 4 |
| Apr | 52 | 29 | 2.7 | 7 |
| May | 66 | 41 | 3.4 | 8 |
| Jun | 76 | 50 | 3.9 | 8 |
| Jul | 80 | 54 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Aug | 77 | 52 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Sep | 69 | 45 | 3.5 | 6 |
| Oct | 55 | 34 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Nov | 39 | 23 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Dec | 27 | 11 | 1.2 | 4 |
| Year | 52 | 30 | 29.7 | 64 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Rhinelander Oneida Airport, WI (1,599 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 Rhinelander
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 49 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rhinelander: 45 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 heavy rain events and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $326,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on July 8, 2007.
July 14, 1997: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Rhinelander — 2 injured, $2,000 damage.
June 25, 2010: heavy rain event 4 miles from the centre of Rhinelander — $200,000 damage.
NWS: “Rainfall runoff from the thunderstorms overwhelmed sewers in the City of Rhinelander where at least 98 homes and businesses experienced damage due to raw sewage infiltration. The hardest hit area had sewage backups in excess of 5 feet deep.”
July 19, 2019: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Rhinelander — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds downed trees south of Rhinelander. The time of this report is an estimate based on radar data.”
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
Oneida County, which includes Rhinelander, has been named in 9 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1976, 4 of them major disasters (by incident: 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Oneida County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $23.9 million a year, the 34th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $9.8 million (41%), 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 Rhinelander
- Tomahawk, WI19 mi
- Saint Germain, WI19 mi
- Eagle River, WI20 mi
- Woodruff, WI24 mi
- Minocqua, WI25 mi
- Crandon, WI25 mi
- Lac Du Flambeau, WI33 mi
- Merrill, WI36 mi
- Antigo, WI38 mi
- Rib Lake, WI45 mi
- Iron River, MI46 mi
- Wausau, WI48 mi
All Wisconsin cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Rhinelander with another place →