Sheboygan County, Wisconsin severe weather history spans 276 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 51.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,922 nationally and #53 in Wisconsin.
276
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
11
Direct injuries
$49.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Sheboygan County, Wisconsin severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin severe weather history averages 4.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 74 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 43 events fall before 1990 and 233 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Sheboygan County, Wisconsin record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $40.8M 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 Sheboygan County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 142 | 0 | $4.0M | 87 | 1957–2025 |
| Hail | 69 | 0 | $0 | 3 | 1961–2026 |
| Flood | 17 | 0 | $108K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Lightning | 14 | 0 | $381K | 0 | 1996–2011 |
| Flash Flood | 12 | 0 | $40.8M | 0 | 1997–2024 |
| Tornado | 10 | 1 | $3.6M | F3 | 1966–2018 |
| Funnel Cloud | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2008 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 0 | $1K | 0 | 2003–2020 |
Decade by decade
Sheboygan County, Wisconsin severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
11 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 9 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974-04-21 | EF3 | 2 | 18 | 58.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1961-09-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2018-08-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-07-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-07-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1987-07-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-07-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-08-08 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 8.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-08-28 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-07-18 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Sheboygan County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 1974 | Tornado | 1 | 7 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 11, 1999 | Lightning | PLYMOUTH | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Aug 14, 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | HAVEN | 0 | 1 | $1K |
| Aug 8, 1966 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A swath of widespread tree and crop damage across the southern portion of the county. Sections of trees and crops completely flattened, and some structural damage from fallen trees or due to the strong downburst winds. Various roads closed due to fallen trees. Two semi-trucks were overturned on highway 57 in Waldo. The widespread wind damage and tornadoes caused structural damage to many homes with 70 homes sustaining affected damage, 3 homes with minor damage, 2 homes with major damage, one home destroyed, and 2 businesses with minor damage.
Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding across parts of eastern Sheboygan County. Water depths on road surfaces reached 3 feet or more and there were gravel washouts. Erosion damage was noted at Kohler Andrae State Park. Some farm fields remained flooded into early July. The breakdown for residential home losses were: 30 minimally affected, and 30 with minor damage (total of $148.5 thousand for home losses). There were no business losses. Crop losses were estimated at $300 thousand. Public sector damage was about $253.9 thousand. A couple roads and bridges sustained minor damage.
This tornado spun up on the front side of a line of thunderstorms in association with a strong microburst that rotated around on itself. It damaged an airport hangar door, destroyed 3 barns, damaged 2 other barns, lightly damaged 3 homes, took the top 1/3 of a silo down, damaged 2 other silos, and uprooted or snapped many trees. Only some minor corn crop damage was noted. It was observed by several people. This tornado started on the east side of the Sheboygan County Airport, and moved east-southeast and eventually crossed STH 32 about midway between STH 23 and CTH O. Once it crossed STH 32 it curved sharply to a south-southeast bearing and dissipated northeast of the intersection of STH 23 and STH 32. It's starting and ending pairs of lat/long numbers were: 43.76517/-87.84273 and 43.75375/-87.81711. DI#1 (SBO), DOD6. The winds were estimated at about 95 mph. The average path width was about 30 yards.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
117,991
Population (ACS)
$233K
Median home value
11
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 14, 2008 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| Jun 18, 2004 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jan 24, 2001 | Snowstorm | SNOW | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin?
276 events are on record between 1957 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $49.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Sheboygan County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 142 recorded events — 51.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Sheboygan County?
11 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 9 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Sheboygan County?
11 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Sheboygan County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Sheboygan County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Sheboygan County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 70 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Sheboygan 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
- Shawano County 287
- Taylor County 293
- Sawyer County 382
- Trempealeau County 573
- Sauk County 500
- Vernon County 586
Cite this page
“Sheboygan County, Wisconsin.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/wisconsin/sheboygan-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.