NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Waterford, 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 Waterford, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 109 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 109
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Waterford
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Waterford; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 59 mph winds when its centre passed 8 miles away. Waterford is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. The strongest of the 109 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 27, 1984; its path came within 15 miles, and it killed 1 person. Of the 109, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 45 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on June 22, 2024. Waterford has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 78% of the 416 Wisconsin cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 95 times since 1963, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Waterford has more hail reports within 10 miles than 78% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Waterford
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 8 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 Waterford: 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 Waterford
By decade
- 2020s20
- 2010s14
- 2000s11(1 EF3+)
- 1990s7
- 1980s18(2 EF3+)
- 1970s15(1 EF3+)
- 1960s16(1 EF3+)
- 1950s8
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 1984 | F4 | 15 mi | 6.5 mi | 1 / 14 |
| Jan 7, 2008 | EF3 | 14 mi | 10.78 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Jun 5, 1980 | F3 | 24 mi | 10.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1977 | F3 | 10 mi | 69.5 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jul 19, 1963 | F3 | 15 mi | 10.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 22, 2010 | EF2 | 5 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 2010 | EF2 | 11 mi | 5.22 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Sep 28, 1986 | F2 | 22 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 15, 1981 | F2 | 23 mi | 28.7 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 6, 1980 | F2 | 19 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 1977 | F2 | 19 mi | 9.3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 25, 1975 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 109, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Waterford
The Storm Prediction Center has 95 hail reports within 10 miles of Waterford since 1963, made on 60 separate days. Of these, 60 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 15, 2025. The most recent report is from May 15, 2025. May has the most reports, 22.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Waterford
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Burlington, WI, 11 miles south of Waterford at 751 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 28°F and 12°F. June is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.8 inches; the year adds up to 35.6 inches over 71 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 155 nights a year. Snowfall averages 37.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 35.6 inches is more than at 108 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (65%). Big Bend, 6 miles north, has its own station (Waukesha Wwtp, WI): 36.1 inches a year, 0.5 more than here, and the same July average high, 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | 12 | 1.8 | 5 | 12.1 |
| Feb | 31 | 14 | 1.8 | 4 | 9.7 |
| Mar | 43 | 23 | 2.1 | 5 | 4.9 |
| Apr | 56 | 34 | 3.6 | 7 | 1.1 |
| May | 67 | 44 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 77 | 55 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 59 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 58 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 50 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 39 | 2.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 45 | 28 | 2.4 | 5 | 2.2 |
| Dec | 33 | 18 | 1.9 | 5 | 7.7 |
| Year | 56 | 36 | 35.6 | 71 | 37.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Burlington, WI (751 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 Waterford
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 142 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Waterford: 113 thunderstorm wind reports, 14 flash floods, 12 floods and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $46.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on July 21, 1998. July has had the most flash floods, 4 of 14. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 334 have had fewer than Waterford.
July 21, 1998: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Waterford — 1 injured, $250,000 damage.
July 18, 2010: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Waterford — 1 injured, $25,000 damage.
June 24, 1997: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Waterford — 1 injured, $3,000 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 Waterford's ZIP code 53185 have filed 42 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $351,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Storm in 2008: 15 claims (36% of all) and $176,000. 43% 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, 86 have fewer than Waterford.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Storm2008 | 15 | $176,000 |
Racine County, which includes Waterford, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 4 floods, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on June 30, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Racine County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $63.8 million a year, the 8th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $30.4 million (48%), 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 Waterford
- Big Bend, WI6 mi
- Muskego, WI8 mi
- Kansasville, WI8 mi
- Mukwonago, WI9 mi
- Union Grove, WI10 mi
- Burlington, WI10 mi
- East Troy, WI11 mi
- Franklin, WI12 mi
- Franksville, WI12 mi
- Hales Corners, WI12 mi
- Caledonia, WI13 mi
- New Berlin, WI13 mi
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