NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sussex, 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 Sussex, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 97 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 97
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for Sussex
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Sussex; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 59 mph winds when its centre passed 32 miles away. Sussex is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. The highest rating among the 97 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 27, 1984, came within 4 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 4, 1981, killed 3 people. Of the 97, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 33 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on July 16, 2025. Sussex has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 69% of the 416 Wisconsin cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 136 times since 1957, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Sussex has more hail reports within 10 miles than 90% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
Compare Sussex's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Sussex
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Sussex: 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 Sussex
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s10
- 2000s10
- 1990s2
- 1980s23(3 EF3+)
- 1970s14(1 EF3+)
- 1960s19(1 EF3+)
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 1981 | F4 | 20 mi | 1.8 mi | 3 / 53 |
| Apr 27, 1984 | F4 | 4 mi | 6.5 mi | 1 / 14 |
| Aug 22, 1964 | F4 | 23 mi | 2.2 mi | 0 / 30 |
| Jun 5, 1980 | F3 | 17 mi | 10.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1977 | F3 | 1 mi | 69.5 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F2 | 24 mi | 14.5 mi | 3 / 28 |
| Jul 22, 2010 | EF2 | 19 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 2010 | EF2 | 21 mi | 5.22 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Jun 1, 2000 | F2 | 18 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 28, 1986 | F2 | 24 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 15, 1981 | F2 | 11 mi | 28.7 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Aug 4, 1980 | F2 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 97, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sussex
The Storm Prediction Center has 136 hail reports within 10 miles of Sussex since 1957, made on 78 separate days. Of these, 76 were 1 inch across or larger, and 10 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 7, 2008. The most recent report is from May 15, 2025. May has the most reports, 35.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sussex
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Brookfield Wwtp, WI, 7 miles south of Sussex at 830 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 28°F and 12°F. June is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 36.0 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 7 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 149 nights a year. That 36.0 inches is more than at 115 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (70%). Colgate, 4 miles northwest, has its own station (Germantown, WI): 34.3 inches a year, 1.7 less than here, and the same July average high, 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 12 | 1.6 | 5 |
| Feb | 32 | 15 | 1.6 | 5 |
| Mar | 42 | 25 | 2.1 | 5 |
| Apr | 54 | 35 | 3.7 | 7 |
| May | 67 | 47 | 3.9 | 8 |
| Jun | 77 | 56 | 4.8 | 8 |
| Jul | 81 | 61 | 3.8 | 6 |
| Aug | 79 | 60 | 4.0 | 8 |
| Sep | 72 | 51 | 3.2 | 7 |
| Oct | 59 | 40 | 3.1 | 7 |
| Nov | 45 | 29 | 2.2 | 4 |
| Dec | 33 | 19 | 2.0 | 6 |
| Year | 56 | 37 | 36.0 | 74 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Brookfield Wwtp, WI (830 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 Sussex
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 200 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sussex: 151 thunderstorm wind reports, 20 flash floods, 13 floods, 10 lightning strikes and 6 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $150.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on August 21, 2002. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 358 have had fewer than Sussex.
July 22, 2010: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Sussex — 1 killed, $24.1 million damage.
April 15, 2026: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Sussex — 1 killed.
September 12, 2019: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Sussex — 3 injured, $2.5 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
Waukesha County, which includes Sussex, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 6 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Waukesha County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and hail; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $138.3 million a year, the 3rd highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $68.2 million (49%), 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.