NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit West Salem, 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 West Salem, Wisconsin since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 62 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 62
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for West Salem
The highest rating among the 62 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on June 5, 1980, came within 17 miles. Of the 62, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 29 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 18. The most recent tornado was on June 26, 2025. Of the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site, 63% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than West Salem. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 158 times since 1959, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). West Salem has more hail reports within 10 miles than 91% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.
Compare West Salem's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of West Salem
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s10
- 2000s6
- 1990s7
- 1980s7(1 EF3+)
- 1970s5
- 1960s11(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 5, 1980 | F3 | 17 mi | 26.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 5, 1965 | F3 | 5 mi | 65.2 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 26, 1959 | F3 | 18 mi | 34.3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 22, 2011 | EF2 | 9 mi | 13.79 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 8, 1988 | F2 | 18 mi | 27 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 26, 1986 | F2 | 11 mi | 5.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1980 | F2 | 11 mi | 70.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 1971 | F2 | 16 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 4, 1964 | F2 | 16 mi | 9.7 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 14, 1961 | F2 | 10 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 28, 1960 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 1957 | F2 | 6 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 62, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in West Salem
The Storm Prediction Center has 158 hail reports within 10 miles of West Salem since 1959, made on 76 separate days. Of these, 92 were 1 inch across or larger, and 21 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 4 inches (softball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 28, 2023. The most recent report is from September 21, 2024. July has the most reports, 53.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in West Salem
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is La Crosse WFO, WI, 8 miles southwest of West Salem at 1,307 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 8°F. June is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 37.4 inches over 71 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 148 nights a year. Snowfall averages 54.2 inches a year, most of it in December. That 37.4 inches is more than at 132 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (80%). Bangor, 6 miles east, has its own station (Sparta, WI): 35.6 inches a year, 1.8 less than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 8 | 1.1 | 3 | 10.5 |
| Feb | 29 | 13 | 1.1 | 4 | 12.4 |
| Mar | 41 | 24 | 1.9 | 5 | 8.3 |
| Apr | 55 | 36 | 4.0 | 7 | 4.5 |
| May | 67 | 48 | 4.9 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 76 | 58 | 5.3 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 80 | 62 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 78 | 60 | 4.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 52 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 58 | 40 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 42 | 28 | 1.9 | 4 | 3.5 |
| Dec | 29 | 15 | 1.5 | 4 | 14.5 |
| Year | 54 | 37 | 37.4 | 71 | 54.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at La Crosse WFO, WI (1,307 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 West Salem
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 224 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of West Salem: 177 thunderstorm wind reports, 21 floods, 11 heavy rain events, 9 lightning strikes and 6 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 13, and the NWS estimated $29.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on May 30, 1998. Of the 374 Wisconsin cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 197 have had fewer than West Salem.
June 18, 1998: thunderstorm wind in West Salem — 13 injured, $20,000 damage.
NWS: “Circus tent collapsed at fairgrounds. 500 people were in tent.”
August 28, 2018: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of West Salem — $26.7 million damage.
September 21, 2016: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of West Salem — $913,000 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
La Crosse County, which includes West Salem, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 6 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 4, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives La Crosse County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hail; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Low for lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $53.7 million a year, the 11th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $19.3 million (36%), 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.