NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Viroqua, 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 Viroqua, Wisconsin since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 51 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 51
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Viroqua
The strongest of the 51 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on June 5, 1980; its path came within 2 miles. Of the 51, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 23 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 15. The most recent tornado was on September 22, 2025. Of the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site, 81% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Viroqua. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 51 times since 1961, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 53% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Viroqua.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Viroqua
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s7
- 2000s7
- 1990s3
- 1980s3(1 EF3+)
- 1970s9
- 1960s11
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 5, 1980 | F3 | 2 mi | 26.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 22, 2011 | EF2 | 23 mi | 13.79 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 18, 2005 | F2 | 7 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 8, 1988 | F2 | 16 mi | 27 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1980 | F2 | 8 mi | 70.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1964 | F2 | 12 mi | 20.3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 4, 1964 | F2 | 9 mi | 12.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 4, 1964 | F2 | 18 mi | 9.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 14, 1961 | F2 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 2025 | EF1 | 21 mi | 5.11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 2022 | EF1 | 18 mi | 5.43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 6, 2017 | EF1 | 24 mi | 2.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 51, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Viroqua
The Storm Prediction Center has 51 hail reports within 10 miles of Viroqua since 1961, made on 41 separate days. Of these, 29 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on September 24, 1984. The most recent report is from May 15, 2025. July has the most reports, 16.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Viroqua
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Viroqua, WI, 2 miles northeast of Viroqua at 1,255 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 79°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 23°F and 6°F. June is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 38.1 inches over 68 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 3 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 165 nights a year. Snowfall averages 47.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 38.1 inches is more than at 145 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (88%). La Farge, 15 miles east, has its own station (Cashton, WI): 35.0 inches a year, 3.1 less than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 79°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23 | 6 | 1.2 | 3 | 11.3 |
| Feb | 28 | 10 | 1.1 | 3 | 10.4 |
| Mar | 40 | 21 | 2.0 | 5 | 7.1 |
| Apr | 54 | 33 | 4.0 | 7 | 3.8 |
| May | 66 | 45 | 4.7 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 75 | 55 | 5.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 79 | 59 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 77 | 57 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 70 | 48 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 57 | 36 | 2.7 | 5 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 41 | 24 | 2.0 | 4 | 4.0 |
| Dec | 28 | 13 | 1.6 | 4 | 10.2 |
| Year | 53 | 34 | 38.1 | 68 | 47.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Viroqua, WI (1,255 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 Viroqua
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 135 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Viroqua: 64 thunderstorm wind reports, 35 floods, 17 heavy rain events, 15 flash floods and 4 lightning strikes. They killed 3 people and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $25.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on August 11, 2023. June has had the most flash floods, 8 of 15. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 341 have had fewer than Viroqua.
September 22, 2016: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Viroqua — 1 killed, $8.9 million damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain caused flash flooding to occur across much of Vernon County. One person was killed near Victory when a mudslide caused a home to slide down a hillside very early in the morning of the 22nd.”
September 22, 2016: flood 2 miles from the centre of Viroqua — 1 killed, $986,000 damage.
NWS: “One man drowned in southern Vernon County when he attempted to drive his pickup across a flooded road. The pickup and cattle trailer he was pulling got stuck in the flood waters with the water eventually filling the passenger compartment of the truck.”
July 26, 2020: heavy rain event 10 miles from the centre of Viroqua — 1 killed, $20,000 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
Vernon County, which includes Viroqua, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 8 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Vernon County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $25.3 million a year, the 31st highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $9.8 million (39%), 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 Viroqua
- Westby, WI8 mi
- La Farge, WI15 mi
- Cashton, WI15 mi
- Stoddard, WI18 mi
- La Crosse, WI24 mi
- Bangor, WI25 mi
- Hillsboro, WI25 mi
- West Salem, WI27 mi
- Richland Center, WI28 mi
- Wilton, WI29 mi
- La Crescent, MN30 mi
- Onalaska, WI30 mi
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