75
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
66
Direct injuries
$93.8M
Property damage
Tornado in Dane County, Wisconsin: 75 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #135 nationally and #1 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Dane County, Wisconsin: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Dane County is the 2000s, when 16 of the county's 75 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Dane County archive, tornado makes up 5.7% of all recorded severe weather across 10 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #135 for this hazard and #1 within Wisconsin, putting it in the 95.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for tornado in Dane County with 27 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984-06-07 | EF5 | 36.0 mi | 450 yd | Crossed in |
| 1967-08-02 | EF3 | 0.1 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 2005-08-18 | EF3 | 18.6 mi | 600 yd | Touched down here |
| 2014-06-16 | EF3 | 1.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-17 | EF3 | 16.0 mi | 400 yd | Touched down here |
| 1975-06-04 | EF3 | 2.3 mi | 33 yd | Touched down here |
| 1991-03-27 | EF2 | 32.0 mi | 440 yd | Crossed in |
| 2024-02-08 | EF2 | 25.9 mi | 750 yd | Crossed in |
| 2014-06-16 | EF2 | 0.2 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1988-05-08 | EF2 | 7.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2, 1967 | F3 | 2 | 5 | $25K | |
| Aug 18, 2005 | FITCHBURG | F3 | 1 | 23 | $34.3M |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F2 | 1 | 5 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 17, 1992 | F3 | 0 | 30 | $25.0M | |
| Jul 26, 1997 | WAUNAKEE | F1 | 0 | 1 | $389K |
| May 8, 1988 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $25K | |
| May 9, 1970 | F1 | 0 | 1 | $25K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 13, 2026 | UTICA | EF1 | $160K |
| Jul 16, 2025 | MAZOMANIE | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 23, 2024 | MARSHALL | EF1 | $3.0M |
| May 22, 2024 | MT HOREB | EF1 | $1.1M |
| Feb 8, 2024 | HANERVILLE | EF1 | $0 |
| Apr 1, 2023 | HANERVILLE | EF1 | $100K |
| Mar 6, 2022 | HANERVILLE | EF1 | $50K |
| Jul 29, 2021 | RILEY | EF0 | $10K |
| Jul 29, 2021 | PINE BLUFF | EF1 | $0 |
| Jul 29, 2021 | CROSS PLAINS | EF1 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Dane County
- Hail 555
- Thunderstorm Wind 480
- Lightning 54
- Flash Flood 47
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A Tornado severely damaged the Country View Elementary school, which will have to be rebuilt. At least 30 homes sustained major damage, 19 of which were rendered uninhabitable. Many trees down. Estimated winds up to 140 mph.
Tornado damaged at least 23 homes with some homes losing much of their roofs. Widespread uprooted and snapped trees within this heavily wooded neighborhood. Some large trees landing on homes. A few roofs had been pierced by 2-by-4s. Estimated winds up to 120 mph.
Tornado began near Springdale where it hit a farm. Two sheds were lofted into a nearby woods where numerous trees were damaged and placed in a crisscross manner. The tornado then crossed Highway 18-151 while tracking to the northeast. It hit an outbuilding on County Rd P which caused it to shift off its foundation. Further north, it uprooted or snapped about 20 mature trees at a farmstead on County Rd P. The tornado then went across Cty P and ended near Valley Spring Rd and County Rd J.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Dane County, Wisconsin?
75 tornado events are recorded in Dane County between 1955 and 2026, causing 4 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Dane County?
The strongest tornado on record in Dane County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Dane County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Tornado in Dane County, Wisconsin.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/wisconsin/dane-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.