NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sturgeon Bay, 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 Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 16 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 16
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Sturgeon Bay
The strongest of the 16 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on August 19, 1968; its path came within 20 miles, and it killed 2 people. Of the 16, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 4 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 8. The most recent tornado was on August 9, 2025. Of the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site, 98% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Sturgeon Bay. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 32 times since 1963, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 81% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Sturgeon Bay.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Sturgeon Bay
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s1
- 2000s2
- 1990s1(1 EF3+)
- 1980s3
- 1970s5
- 1960s2(1 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 19, 1968 | F4 | 20 mi | 21.8 mi | 2 / 3 |
| Aug 23, 1998 | F3 | 12 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 8, 1985 | F2 | 1 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 22, 1970 | F2 | 8 mi | 9.5 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 22, 1970 | F2 | 11 mi | 11.2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 1, 1956 | F2 | 5 mi | 10.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1980 | F1 | 25 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1973 | F1 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 20, 1972 | F1 | 21 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1971 | F1 | 24 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 2025 | EF0 | 23 mi | 0.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 9, 2013 | EF0 | 23 mi | 1.58 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 16, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sturgeon Bay
The Storm Prediction Center has 32 hail reports within 10 miles of Sturgeon Bay since 1963, made on 24 separate days. Of these, 18 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on August 9, 2001. The most recent report is from August 11, 2023. July has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sturgeon Bay
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Sturgeon Bay Exp Farm, WI, 3 miles northeast of Sturgeon Bay at 699 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 78°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 25°F and 10°F. June is the wettest at 4.1 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.3 inches; the year adds up to 32.8 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 2 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 152 nights a year. Snowfall averages 57.4 inches a year, most of it in January. That 32.8 inches is more than at 38 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (23%). Brussels, 14 miles southwest, has its own station (Forestville-4E, WI): 30.2 inches a year, 2.6 less than here, and a July average high of 77°F against 78°F.
Water temperature at the NOAA tide station Menominee, MI, 20 miles northwest, averaged 73°F in July and 35°F in February over 2021–2025. No month averaged 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in | Water °F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25 | 10 | 1.7 | 5 | 15.6 | 35 |
| Feb | 28 | 12 | 1.3 | 4 | 12.9 | 35 |
| Mar | 38 | 21 | 1.9 | 5 | 8.6 | 36 |
| Apr | 50 | 32 | 3.1 | 7 | 4.0 | 43 |
| May | 62 | 43 | 3.3 | 8 | 0.0 | 57 |
| Jun | 73 | 53 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 | 68 |
| Jul | 78 | 59 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 | 73 |
| Aug | 77 | 58 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 | 72 |
| Sep | 69 | 51 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 | 68 |
| Oct | 56 | 39 | 3.2 | 7 | 0.2 | 59 |
| Nov | 42 | 29 | 2.2 | 6 | 2.4 | 46 |
| Dec | 31 | 19 | 2.0 | 6 | 13.7 | 36 |
| Year | 52 | 35 | 32.8 | 74 | 57.4 | 52 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Sturgeon Bay Exp Farm, WI (699 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals; water temperature: average of hourly readings 2021–2025 at the NOAA tide station Menominee, MI, from NOAA Tides & Currents. 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 Sturgeon Bay
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 52 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sturgeon Bay: 48 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $482,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 76 mph, on August 9, 2001.
June 25, 1998: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Sturgeon Bay — 3 injured, $150,000 damage.
June 25, 1998: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Sturgeon Bay — 1 injured.
June 25, 1998: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Sturgeon Bay — $150,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Sturgeon Bay's ZIP code 54235 have filed 51 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1985, and were paid $508,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2019, with 16. 8% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 128 Wisconsin cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 97 have fewer than Sturgeon Bay.
Door County, which includes Sturgeon Bay, has been named in 6 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 2 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought, 1 flood, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Door County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for coastal flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $14.7 million a year, the 51st highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.9 million (47%), 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 Sturgeon Bay
- Brussels, WI14 mi
- Algoma, WI16 mi
- Casco, WI21 mi
- Marinette, WI22 mi
- Menominee, MI23 mi
- Peshtigo, WI24 mi
- Oconto, WI26 mi
- Luxemburg, WI26 mi
- Sister Bay, WI27 mi
- Kewaunee, WI28 mi
- New Franken, WI29 mi
- Little Suamico, WI32 mi
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