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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Woodruff, 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 Woodruff, Wisconsin since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Cristobal in 2020. Since 1950, 31 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
1

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
31

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
4

5 deaths in all

What the records show for Woodruff

None of the 1 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Woodruff; the strongest was Cristobal in 2020, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre passed 46 miles away. Woodruff is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 416 Wisconsin cities on this site. The strongest of the 31 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 25, 1950; its path came within 23 miles, and it killed 2 people. The deadliest, an F3 on June 8, 1985, killed 2 people. Of the 31, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 8 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 10. The most recent tornado was on August 9, 2020. Of the 416 Wisconsin cities, 93% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Woodruff. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 73 times since 1980, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Woodruff has more hail reports within 10 miles than 65% of the 416 Wisconsin cities.

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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Woodruff

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Woodruff, Wisconsin, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2020CristobalJun 1046 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Woodruff: 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 Woodruff

By decade

  • 2020s2
  • 2010s2
  • 2000s4
  • 1990s2
  • 1980s14(2 EF3+)
  • 1970s2(1 EF3+)
  • 1960s4
  • 1950s1(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Woodruff, Wisconsin
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Jun 25, 1950F423 mi13.1 mi2 / 12
Jun 8, 1985F313 mi68 mi2 / 42
Apr 27, 1984F33 mi29 mi1 / 8
Jul 7, 1970F317 mi37.9 mi0 / 0
Jun 27, 1991F29 mi6 mi0 / 0
Jul 4, 1986F214 mi1.5 mi0 / 0
Jun 26, 1969F27 mi28.9 mi0 / 0
Aug 9, 2020EF114 mi5.89 mi0 / 0
Aug 9, 2020EF112 mi6.18 mi0 / 0
Jul 27, 2010EF124 mi4.79 mi0 / 3
May 1, 2001F12 mi1.5 mi0 / 0
Apr 26, 1994F123 mi4.5 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 31, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Woodruff

The Storm Prediction Center has 73 hail reports within 10 miles of Woodruff since 1980, made on 47 separate days. Of these, 48 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on July 16, 1997. The most recent report is from June 24, 2024. May has the most reports, 18.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Woodruff

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Minocqua, WI, 4 miles southwest of Woodruff at 1,601 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 77°F and low of 54°F; January is the coolest, at 20°F and 1°F. June is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 34.1 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 2 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 199 nights a year. Snowfall averages 98.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 34.1 inches is more than at 71 of the 165 Wisconsin stations used on this site (43%). Saint Germain, 9 miles east, has its own station (St Germain, WI): 33.6 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and a July average high of 75°F against 77°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Minocqua, WI
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"Snow in
Jan2011.3420.4
Feb2531.1316.5
Mar37131.7516.9
Apr49262.988.8
May64393.880.7
Jun73514.480.0
Jul77544.180.0
Aug75523.770.0
Sep67453.680.0
Oct52343.782.9
Nov37222.1512.8
Dec2591.7519.7
Year502934.17698.7

Averages for 1991–2020 at Minocqua, WI (1,601 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.

Wisconsin weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Woodruff

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 80 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Woodruff: 78 thunderstorm wind reports, 1 heavy rain event and 1 lightning strike. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $1.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 26, 2007.

  • September 6, 2016: lightning strike 5 miles from the centre of Woodruff — 1 killed.

    NWS: “A 66-year-old man was struck by lightning outside his residence on Tanglewood Court in Minocqua. He was first taken to Howard Young Medical Center, then transported to St.”

  • July 30, 1999: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Woodruff — $500,000 damage.

  • July 30, 1999: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Woodruff — $250,000 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

Vilas County, which includes Woodruff, has been named in 7 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1976, 3 of them major disasters (by incident: 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 1 drought, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Tornadoes, on October 7, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Vilas County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and inland flooding; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $18.7 million a year, the 45th highest of 72 Wisconsin counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.5 million (40%), 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 Woodruff

All Wisconsin cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Woodruff with another place →

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