Vilas County, Wisconsin severe weather history spans 316 recorded events between 1958 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 53.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,689 nationally and #47 in Wisconsin.
316
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$29.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Vilas County, Wisconsin severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Vilas County, Wisconsin severe weather history averages 4.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 89 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 41 events fall before 1990 and 275 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Vilas County, Wisconsin record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $26.5M 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 Vilas County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 169 | 2 | $2.2M | 83 | 1958–2026 |
| Hail | 116 | 0 | $750K | 3 | 1963–2024 |
| Tornado | 15 | 0 | $26.5M | F3 | 1964–2020 |
| Lightning | 5 | 0 | $77K | 0 | 1996–2013 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $1K | 0 | 2000–2017 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2011 |
| Flash Flood | 2 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 1996–2011 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2007 |
Decade by decade
Vilas County, Wisconsin severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
17 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984-04-27 | EF3 | 1 | 8 | 29.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1970-07-07 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 37.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1969-06-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 28.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-08-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-08-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-05-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1995-07-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-04-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-08-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-07-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Vilas County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 31, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | COUNTYWIDE | 2 | 0 | $1.0M |
| Apr 27, 1984 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $25.0M | |
| Jun 9, 1999 | Lightning | EAGLE RIVER | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 15, 1988 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 | |
| Jun 26, 1969 | 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 man was injured when struck by lightning while working on a house roof near Danbury (Burnett county). A severe thunderstorm downed numerous pine trees, some over 100 years old, in Lac du Flambeau (Vilas county). Three trees crushed a home and destroyed it.
Large hail damaged vehicles and structures near St. Germain. A vehicle dealership on the east side of the city suffered the most extensive damage. Every car on the lot sustained damaged. Every vehicle at a repair shop in town was damaged except for a 1972 Pontiac Lemans. This was likely due to the thicker steel used in the body of the Lemans. One man was unable to get his hand around a hailstone that crashed through the kitchen skylight of his home.
A severe thunderstorm, within a line of storms, produced downburst winds southwest of Conover. Winds of 80 to 90 mph, with higher gusts, snapped or uprooted hundreds of trees, some as large as three feet in diameter, along a 5 mile long path. Several homes and cabins were damaged by the fallen trees. The storm moved over a camp where 650 people were located. The camp staff heard the warning and was able to get everyone to safety before the storm hit. There were no injuries from the storm.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
23,647
Population (ACS)
$300K
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 |
| Aug 16, 1999 | Flood | WI-FLOOD-07/20/99 | DR |
| Jul 10, 1984 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | EM |
| Jun 17, 1976 | Drought | DROUGHT | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Vilas County, Wisconsin?
316 events are on record between 1958 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $29.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Vilas County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 169 recorded events — 53.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Vilas County?
17 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 13 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Vilas County?
6 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Vilas County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Vilas County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Vilas County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 63 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Vilas 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
- Vernon County 586
- Walworth County 573
- Trempealeau County 573
- Washburn County 261
- Taylor County 293
- Washington County 418
Cite this page
“Vilas County, Wisconsin.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/wisconsin/vilas-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.