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Storms That Hit

NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rio, 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 Rio, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 125 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
1

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
125

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
12

15 deaths in all

What the records show for Rio

None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Rio; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 66 miles away. Rio is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. The strongest of the 125 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 7, 1984; its path came within 18 miles, and it killed 9 people. Of the 125, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 54 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 40. The most recent tornado was on July 16, 2025. Rio has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 91% of the 416 Wisconsin cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 46 times since 1970, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 60% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Rio.

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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Rio

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Rio, Wisconsin, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
1900Unnamed 1900 stormSep 1166 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Rio: 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 Rio

By decade

  • 2020s7
  • 2010s17
  • 2000s30(2 EF3+)
  • 1990s13
  • 1980s24(3 EF3+)
  • 1970s15(2 EF3+)
  • 1960s12(4 EF3+)
  • 1950s7(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Rio, Wisconsin
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jun 7, 1984F518 mi36 mi9 / 200
Sep 26, 1951F42 mi9 mi1 / 9
Apr 21, 1974F325 mi58.6 mi2 / 18
Aug 2, 1967F324 mi0.1 mi2 / 5
Jun 23, 2004F321 mi7.6 mi1 / 1
Jun 23, 2004F322 mi33.3 mi0 / 0
Jun 8, 1984F3in town29 mi0 / 1
Apr 7, 1980F314 mi1.2 mi0 / 4
Jun 4, 1975F315 mi2.3 mi0 / 0
Aug 16, 1963F317 mi9.6 mi0 / 13
Aug 16, 1963F317 mi9.6 mi0 / 13
Aug 16, 1963F317 mi9.6 mi0 / 13

The strongest 12 of 125, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Rio

The Storm Prediction Center has 46 hail reports within 10 miles of Rio since 1970, made on 38 separate days. Of these, 23 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on August 29, 1984. The most recent report is from July 16, 2023. June has the most reports, 11.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Rio

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Arlington, WI, 11 miles southwest of Rio at 1,052 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 9°F. June is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.2 inches; the year adds up to 35.4 inches over 74 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 164 nights a year. Snowfall averages 42.6 inches a year, most of it in February. That 35.4 inches is more than at 104 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (63%). Pardeeville, 7 miles northwest, has its own station (Portage Wwtp, WI): 38.4 inches a year, 3.0 more than here, and the same July average high, 82°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Arlington, WI
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow in
Jan2691.2410.7
Feb31121.4511.2
Mar43232.055.3
Apr57343.771.9
May69464.290.1
Jun79565.190.0
Jul82604.270.0
Aug80583.870.0
Sep73493.360.0
Oct60382.860.3
Nov44262.252.4
Dec32161.5510.7
Year563635.47442.6

Averages for 1991–2020 at Arlington, WI (1,052 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.

Wisconsin weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Rio

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 63 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rio: 60 thunderstorm wind reports, 1 flash flood, 1 flood and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $7.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on August 26, 2004.

  • May 31, 1998: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Rio — 1 injured, $3.8 million damage.

  • June 7, 2008: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Rio — 1 injured, $25,000 damage.

    NWS: “Powerful thunderstorm winds knocked down large trees and power-lines. One injury reported at Rio campground when tree branches hit a person.”

  • August 3, 2004: thunderstorm wind in Rio — $3.0 million 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 Rio, 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 Rio

All Wisconsin cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Rio with another place →

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