NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ripon, 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 Ripon, Wisconsin since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 145 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 13 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 145
- EF3 or stronger
- 13
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
13 deaths in all
What the records show for Ripon
The strongest of the 145 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on July 18, 1996; its path came within 15 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 3, 1956, killed 7 people. Of the 145, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 67 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 53. The most recent tornado was on July 16, 2025. Ripon has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 99% of the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 55 times since 1960, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Ripon has more hail reports within 10 miles than 50% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Ripon
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s26
- 2000s34(2 EF3+)
- 1990s28(2 EF3+)
- 1980s19(2 EF3+)
- 1970s14(4 EF3+)
- 1960s8
- 1950s9(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 1996 | F5 | 15 mi | 13.3 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Apr 3, 1956 | F4 | 8 mi | 11.5 mi | 7 / 50 |
| Apr 27, 1984 | F4 | 17 mi | 27.5 mi | 1 / 19 |
| Sep 26, 1951 | F4 | 25 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Apr 21, 1974 | F4 | 5 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 35 |
| Apr 21, 1974 | F3 | 24 mi | 58.6 mi | 2 / 18 |
| Jun 23, 2004 | F3 | 13 mi | 7.6 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Aug 29, 1992 | F3 | 21 mi | 28 mi | 1 / 30 |
| Jun 23, 2004 | F3 | 12 mi | 33.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 1984 | F3 | 11 mi | 29 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 5, 1977 | F3 | 6 mi | 69.5 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Apr 21, 1974 | F3 | 21 mi | 22.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 145, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Ripon
The Storm Prediction Center has 55 hail reports within 10 miles of Ripon since 1960, made on 40 separate days. Of these, 27 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 15, 2025. July has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ripon
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ripon 5 NE, WI, 6 miles northeast of Ripon at 930 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 25°F and 10°F. June is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 31.5 inches over 61 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from June to July. Lows fall below freezing on about 153 nights a year. Snowfall averages 37.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 31.5 inches is more than at 14 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (8%). Green Lake, 6 miles west, has its own station (Markesan, WI): 35.8 inches a year, 4.3 more than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25 | 10 | 1.0 | 3 | 11.0 |
| Feb | 28 | 12 | 0.9 | 3 | 8.2 |
| Mar | 40 | 22 | 1.7 | 4 | 5.6 |
| Apr | 54 | 34 | 2.9 | 6 | 1.4 |
| May | 67 | 46 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 76 | 57 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 80 | 60 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 78 | 59 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 51 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 58 | 39 | 2.7 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 43 | 28 | 1.9 | 4 | 1.8 |
| Dec | 30 | 16 | 1.4 | 3 | 9.5 |
| Year | 54 | 36 | 31.5 | 61 | 37.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ripon 5 NE, WI (930 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 Ripon
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 93 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ripon: 86 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 flash floods, 2 floods, 2 lightning strikes and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $39.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 110 mph, on August 28, 2018.
July 28, 2021: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Ripon — 1 killed, $23,000 damage.
NWS: “Multiple reports of trees down, snapped power poles, road closures, and power outages in the Ripon area. Sheet metal roofing or siding was strewn in the field on either side of Brandon Street, north of the intersection with Highway KK.”
June 12, 2008: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Ripon — $17.0 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding across much of western Fond du Lac County. Water depths on road surfaces reached 3 feet or more and there were gravel washouts.”
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
Fond du Lac County, which includes Ripon, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Fond du Lac County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $44.1 million a year, the 15th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $19.5 million (44%), 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 Ripon
- Green Lake, WI6 mi
- Brandon, WI8 mi
- Berlin, WI10 mi
- Markesan, WI12 mi
- Omro, WI14 mi
- Princeton, WI15 mi
- Waupun, WI16 mi
- Oakfield, WI18 mi
- Oshkosh, WI19 mi
- Winneconne, WI19 mi
- Redgranite, WI19 mi
- Fox Lake, WI20 mi
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