Oneida County, Wisconsin severe weather history spans 357 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 47.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,443 nationally and #34 in Wisconsin.
357
Recorded events
6
Direct deaths
40
Direct injuries
$55.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Oneida County, Wisconsin severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Oneida County, Wisconsin severe weather history averages 4.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 108 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 47 events fall before 1990 and 310 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Oneida County, Wisconsin record is tornado, responsible for 5 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $51.6M 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 Oneida County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 168 | 0 | $1.8M | 100 | 1965–2025 |
| Hail | 142 | 0 | $439K | 3 | 1955–2026 |
| Tornado | 22 | 5 | $51.6M | F4 | 1950–2019 |
| Lightning | 9 | 1 | $1.1M | 0 | 1997–2020 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $16K | 0 | 2000–2016 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $202K | 0 | 1997–2014 |
| Flash Flood | 3 | 0 | $180K | 0 | 2000–2003 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2012–2012 |
Decade by decade
Oneida County, Wisconsin severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
22 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 21 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950-06-25 | EF4 | 2 | 12 | 13.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1985-06-08 | EF3 | 2 | 42 | 68.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1984-04-27 | EF3 | 1 | 8 | 29.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-06-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-07-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-06-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-05-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-06-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-06-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-06-14 | EF1 | 0 | 3 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Oneida County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 9, 1985 | Tornado | 2 | 16 | $25.0M | |
| Jun 26, 1950 | Tornado | 2 | 12 | $250K | |
| Apr 27, 1984 | Tornado | 1 | 5 | $25.0M | |
| Sep 6, 2016 | Lightning | MINOCQUA | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 14, 1980 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $25K | |
| Jun 24, 2002 | Lightning | RHINELANDER | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 14, 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | RHINELANDER | 0 | 2 | $2K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
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. Claire's Hospital in Weston. From there, he was taken to a burn center in Madison where he died from his injuries.
Rainfall runoff from the thunderstorms overwhelmed sewers in the City of Rhinelander where at least 98 homes and businesses experienced damage due to raw sewage infiltration. The hardest hit area had sewage backups in excess of 5 feet deep. The damage amount is estimated.
Thunderstorm winds downed a large number of trees and a number of power lines in the Town of Minocqua. Downed trees made roads impassable and caused thousands of customers in the Minocqua and Rhinelander areas to lose electrical service. Some homes sustained damage, mainly to their roofs, when trees fell onto them. The high winds also flipped or damaged a number of boats.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
38,167
Population (ACS)
$238K
Median home value
9
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 |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| Jun 24, 2000 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 16, 1999 | Flood | WI-FLOOD-07/20/99 | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Oneida County, Wisconsin?
357 events are on record between 1950 and 2026, causing 6 direct deaths and $55.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Oneida County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 168 recorded events — 47.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Oneida County?
22 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 21 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Oneida County?
9 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Oneida County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Oneida County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Oneida County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 63 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Oneida 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
- Oconto County 245
- Outagamie County 475
- Monroe County 511
- Ozaukee County 225
- Milwaukee County 596
- Pepin County 135
Cite this page
“Oneida County, Wisconsin.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/wisconsin/oneida-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.