NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Waupun, 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 Waupun, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1900. Since 1950, 148 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 1
- Tornadoes
- 148
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
11 deaths in all
What the records show for Waupun
None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Waupun; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1900, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 71 miles away. Waupun is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. The strongest of the 148 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on July 18, 1996; its path came within 7 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 3, 1956, killed 7 people. Of the 148, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 66 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 47. The most recent tornado was on July 16, 2025. Waupun is tied for the most tornadoes within 25 miles among the 416 Wisconsin cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 46 times since 1955, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 60% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Waupun.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Waupun
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | Unnamed 1900 stormSep 11 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Waupun: 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 Waupun
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s26
- 2000s30(2 EF3+)
- 1990s15(1 EF3+)
- 1980s29(2 EF3+)
- 1970s17(4 EF3+)
- 1960s13
- 1950s8(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 1996 | F5 | 7 mi | 13.3 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Apr 3, 1956 | F4 | 24 mi | 11.5 mi | 7 / 50 |
| Sep 26, 1951 | F4 | 19 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Apr 21, 1974 | F4 | 9 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 35 |
| Apr 21, 1974 | F3 | 8 mi | 58.6 mi | 2 / 18 |
| Jun 23, 2004 | F3 | 3 mi | 7.6 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Jun 23, 2004 | F3 | in town | 33.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 1984 | F3 | 14 mi | 29 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 7, 1980 | F3 | 16 mi | 1.2 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jun 5, 1977 | F3 | 6 mi | 69.5 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Apr 21, 1974 | F3 | 5 mi | 22.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 1950 | F3 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 148, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Waupun
The Storm Prediction Center has 46 hail reports within 10 miles of Waupun since 1955, made on 37 separate days. Of these, 28 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on July 15, 1995. The most recent report is from August 16, 2025. June has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Waupun
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Town Of Westford, WI, 13 miles southwest of Waupun at 879 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 25°F and 8°F. June is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.6 inches; the year adds up to 37.8 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 157 nights a year. That 37.8 inches is more than at 140 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (85%). Brandon, 7 miles north, has its own station (Ripon 5 NE, WI): 31.5 inches a year, 6.3 less than here, and a July average high of 80°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25 | 8 | 1.6 | 5 |
| Feb | 29 | 11 | 1.7 | 5 |
| Mar | 41 | 22 | 2.4 | 6 |
| Apr | 55 | 34 | 3.8 | 8 |
| May | 68 | 47 | 4.4 | 8 |
| Jun | 78 | 56 | 5.0 | 8 |
| Jul | 81 | 60 | 4.1 | 6 |
| Aug | 79 | 58 | 3.8 | 6 |
| Sep | 72 | 50 | 3.6 | 6 |
| Oct | 59 | 39 | 3.1 | 7 |
| Nov | 44 | 27 | 2.3 | 5 |
| Dec | 31 | 15 | 2.0 | 6 |
| Year | 55 | 36 | 37.8 | 74 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Town Of Westford, WI (879 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 Waupun
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 79 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Waupun: 65 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 floods, 3 lightning strikes, 2 flash floods and 2 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $8.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 110 mph, on August 28, 2018.
August 28, 2018: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Waupun — $7.6 million damage.
April 17, 2004: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Waupun — $250,000 damage.
October 2, 2006: lightning strike 3 miles from the centre of Waupun — $200,000 damage.
NWS: “Lightning struck a shed. The resultant fire buring the shed to the ground, and the contents were 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 Waupun's ZIP code 53963 have filed 16 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2004, and were paid $78,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2008, with 11. Of the 128 Wisconsin cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 34 have fewer than Waupun.
Fond du Lac County, which includes Waupun, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Fond du Lac County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $44.1 million a year, the 15th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $19.5 million (44%), 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 Waupun
- Brandon, WI7 mi
- Oakfield, WI9 mi
- Fox Lake, WI10 mi
- Beaver Dam, WI13 mi
- Mayville, WI14 mi
- Horicon, WI14 mi
- Lomira, WI15 mi
- Randolph, WI15 mi
- Ripon, WI16 mi
- Markesan, WI16 mi
- Fond Du Lac, WI17 mi
- Theresa, WI18 mi
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