NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Waukesha, 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 Waukesha, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 100 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 100
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Waukesha
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Waukesha; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 59 mph winds when its centre passed 23 miles away. Waukesha is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. The strongest of the 100 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 27, 1984; its path came within 3 miles, and it killed 1 person. Of the 100, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 35 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on July 28, 2023. Waukesha has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 71% of the 416 Wisconsin cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 139 times since 1965, with stones up to 3.75 inches. Waukesha has more hail reports within 10 miles than 90% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
Compare Waukesha's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Waukesha
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 23 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 Waukesha: 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 Waukesha
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s11
- 2000s11
- 1990s3
- 1980s22(2 EF3+)
- 1970s15(1 EF3+)
- 1960s15
- 1950s10
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 1984 | F4 | 3 mi | 6.5 mi | 1 / 14 |
| Jun 5, 1980 | F3 | 15 mi | 10.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1977 | F3 | 4 mi | 69.5 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jul 22, 2010 | EF2 | 10 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 2010 | EF2 | 12 mi | 5.22 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Sep 28, 1986 | F2 | 19 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 15, 1981 | F2 | 10 mi | 28.7 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Aug 4, 1980 | F2 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1980 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1980 | F2 | 21 mi | 6.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 1977 | F2 | 5 mi | 9.3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 25, 1975 | F2 | 15 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 100, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Waukesha
The Storm Prediction Center has 139 hail reports within 10 miles of Waukesha since 1965, made on 75 separate days. Of these, 82 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.75 inches, fell on August 2, 2015. The most recent report is from September 22, 2025. May has the most reports, 34.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Waukesha
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Waukesha Wwtp, WI, in Waukesha at 789 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 28°F and 12°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 36.1 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 143 nights a year. Snowfall averages 36.9 inches a year, most of it in January. That 36.1 inches is more than at 117 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (71%). Pewaukee, 5 miles north, has its own station (Brookfield Wwtp, WI): 36.0 inches a year, 0.1 less 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 | 1.6 | 5 | 10.4 |
| Feb | 32 | 15 | 1.7 | 4 | 10.1 |
| Mar | 43 | 24 | 1.9 | 5 | 4.6 |
| Apr | 55 | 35 | 3.7 | 7 | 1.1 |
| May | 67 | 46 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 77 | 56 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 60 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 59 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 51 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 40 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 45 | 28 | 2.2 | 5 | 1.8 |
| Dec | 33 | 18 | 1.7 | 5 | 8.8 |
| Year | 56 | 37 | 36.1 | 71 | 36.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Waukesha Wwtp, WI (789 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 Waukesha
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 189 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Waukesha: 139 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 flash floods, 15 lightning strikes, 10 floods and 8 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $88.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on August 21, 2002. June has had the most flash floods, 7 of 17. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 347 have had fewer than Waukesha.
June 12, 2008: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Waukesha — 1 killed, $25,000 damage.
April 15, 2026: lightning strike 3 miles from the centre of Waukesha — 1 killed.
September 12, 2019: lightning strike 3 miles from the centre of Waukesha — 3 injured, $2.5 million damage.
NWS: “Approximately 100 people were displaced when an apartment building was struck by lightning causing a fire. The 42 unit apartment building was a total loss.”
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 Waukesha's 3 ZIP codes have filed 43 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $449,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Storm in 2008: 21 claims (49% of all) and $255,000. 60% 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, 89 have fewer than Waukesha.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Storm2008 | 21 | $255,000 |
Waukesha County, which includes Waukesha, 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.