Door County, Wisconsin severe weather history spans 252 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 54.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,090 nationally and #59 in Wisconsin.
252
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
11
Direct injuries
$9.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Door County, Wisconsin severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Door County, Wisconsin severe weather history averages 3.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 1990s, with 70 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 32 events fall before 1990 and 220 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $8.0M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Door County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 138 | 0 | $957K | 105 | 1966–2025 |
| Hail | 82 | 0 | $0 | 3 | 1963–2023 |
| Tornado | 10 | 0 | $8.0M | F3 | 1956–2025 |
| Lightning | 7 | 0 | $595K | 0 | 1997–2016 |
| Waterspout | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2001 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2009 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2008 |
| Flash Flood | 2 | 0 | $95K | 0 | 2014–2024 |
Decade by decade
Door County, Wisconsin severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
10 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 7 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-08-23 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 5.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1985-06-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-04-22 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 9.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1970-04-22 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 11.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1956-07-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-05-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-07-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-08-09 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-07-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-07-25 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Door County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 25, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | STURGEON BAY | 0 | 3 | $150K |
| Aug 23, 1998 | Tornado | EGG HARBOR | 0 | 2 | $4.7M |
| Apr 23, 1970 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| Aug 6, 2003 | Lightning | STURGEON BAY | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Sep 7, 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | FISH CREEK | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 25, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | STURGEON BAY | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 9, 1992 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Lightning struck a home in Fish Creek around 2:30 pm CST. Every fire department in Door County, except Washington Island, helped fight the fire but the house and attached three-stall garage were a total loss. Three vintage automobiles were also destroyed by the fire.
Thunderstorm winds downed and uprooted multiple trees in Ephraim. The time of this report is an estimate based on radar data. The thunderstorms produced $431,938 worth of damage and debris clean up across central and northern parts of Door County.
Heavy rainfall flooded basements, resorts, and campgrounds, and damaged roads in the Sister Bay, Fish Creek, and Baileys Harbor areas. In excess of 6 inches of rain in Baileys Harbor caused nearly every home there to sustain a backup from the sewage disposal plant. Flood waters damaged documents at the Ephraim Historical Society. The flooding also washed out shoulders of several roads in the area.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
30,445
Population (ACS)
$343K
Median home value
6
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| Jan 24, 2001 | Snowstorm | SNOW | EM |
| Jun 17, 1976 | Drought | DROUGHT | EM |
| Apr 27, 1973 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Door County, Wisconsin?
252 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $9.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Door County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 138 recorded events — 54.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Door County?
10 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 7 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Door County?
6 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Door County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Door County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Door County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 47 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Door County, Wisconsin severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Dodge County 621
- Douglas County 307
- Dane County 1,306
- Dunn County 353
- Crawford County 381
- Eau Claire County 317
Cite this page
“Door County, Wisconsin.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/wisconsin/door-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.