La Crosse County, Wisconsin severe weather history spans 667 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 45.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #449 nationally and #5 in Wisconsin.
667
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
17
Direct injuries
$119.8M
Property damage
The record
What the La Crosse County, Wisconsin severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, La Crosse County, Wisconsin severe weather history averages 9.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 230 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 91 events fall before 1990 and 576 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is hail, with $75.7M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in La Crosse County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 300 | 0 | $2.4M | 109 | 1956–2025 |
| Hail | 220 | 0 | $75.7M | 4 | 1959–2026 |
| Flood | 64 | 0 | $4.2M | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Tornado | 20 | 0 | $18.7M | F3 | 1954–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 19 | 0 | $290K | 0 | 2006–2022 |
| Lightning | 18 | 0 | $587K | 0 | 2005–2020 |
| Flash Flood | 16 | 0 | $17.9M | 0 | 1997–2021 |
| Funnel Cloud | 9 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2022 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $20K | 0 | 2000–2000 |
Decade by decade
La Crosse County, Wisconsin severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
21 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 17 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965-05-05 | EF3 | 0 | 7 | 65.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-05-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 13.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1980-06-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 70.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-05-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-06-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-03-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-05-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-06-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-09-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in La Crosse County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 18, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | WEST SALEM | 0 | 13 | $20K |
| Jul 4, 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | LA CROSSE | 0 | 1 | $3K |
| May 16, 1998 | Tornado | WEST SALEM | 0 | 1 | $40K |
| Jul 11, 1966 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K | |
| May 6, 1965 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $2.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Hundreds of homes received roof and siding damage as well as broken windows on the south side of La Crosse. Wal Mart department store reported approximately 20 sky lights broken. Hundreds of cars were also damaged with dents and broken windows and mirrors. There were several thousand claims made to major insurance companies in and around the La Crosse area.
Heavy rain led to major flash flooding in the south end of the county, especially south of La Crosse. Mudslides were reported along Highways 35 and 33. There was also major street flooding and water in basements. Parts of a retaining wall washed away at the intersection of Highways 14, 61, and 35 and erosion washed away some smaller roads.||About 644 people applied for FEMA assistance.
Flood waters from Fleming Creek caused State Highway 108 to be closed near Mindoro.|Water covered low spots in several other locations across the northeast part of La Crosse County. Some of the impacted roads included County Highways C, DE and E. Some minor mudslides also occurred with County Highway OA reduced to one lane. Sixteen homes were damaged by the flooding. Bangor declared a local state of emergency due to flooding along Dutch Creek.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
120,488
Population (ACS)
$257K
Median home value
18
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Aug 27, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Oct 18, 2018 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, AND LANDSLIDES | DR |
| Oct 7, 2017 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUD | DR |
| Oct 20, 2016 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- La Crosse 306
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in La Crosse County, Wisconsin?
667 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $119.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in La Crosse County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 300 recorded events — 45.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed La Crosse County?
21 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 17 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover La Crosse County?
18 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include La Crosse County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is La Crosse County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates La Crosse County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 81 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the La Crosse 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
- Kewaunee County 152
- Lafayette County 348
- Kenosha County 340
- Langlade County 208
- Juneau County 390
- Lincoln County 287
Cite this page
“La Crosse County, Wisconsin.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/wisconsin/la-crosse-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.