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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.

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, 121 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
121

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
12

15 deaths in all

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

  • 2020s3
  • 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 121, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Rio while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

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