Barron County, Wisconsin severe weather history spans 421 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 42.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,169 nationally and #22 in Wisconsin.
421
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
50
Direct injuries
$54.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Barron County, Wisconsin severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Barron County, Wisconsin severe weather history averages 6.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 122 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 73 events fall before 1990 and 348 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Barron County, Wisconsin record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $30.6M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Barron County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 178 | 0 | $4.5M | 80 | 1966–2025 |
| Hail | 172 | 0 | $30.6M | 3.5 | 1964–2024 |
| Tornado | 41 | 1 | $19.4M | F3 | 1957–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 11 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 9 | 0 | $275K | 0 | 2000–2015 |
| Heavy Rain | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2022 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
Decade by decade
Barron County, Wisconsin severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
42 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 35 touched down inside it and 7 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-05-16 | EF3 | 1 | 25 | 82.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1977-07-30 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 9.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1953-05-10 | EF2 | 4 | 27 | 105.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1994-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-09-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-09-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-09-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-07-22 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 49.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-05-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-06-18 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 4.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Barron County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 2017 | Tornado | REEVE | 1 | 25 | $10.1M |
| Aug 8, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | CUMBERLAND | 0 | 8 | $100K |
| Jul 23, 1967 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $250K | |
| Jul 15, 1969 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $25K | |
| Jul 4, 1957 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| Jun 18, 1964 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Jul 30, 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | HAUGEN | 0 | 1 | $10K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado first developed over southeastern Polk County, then tracked mostly east-northeast across southern Barron before moving into Rusk County and eventually Price County. In Barron County, the tornado hit numerous farmsteads, devastating barns and other outbuildings. The hardest hit area in Barron County was just north of Chetek, WI, where high-end EF2 damage was found. A number of mobile homes were completely demolished, and this is where the one fatality occurred. After that, several turkey barns were leveled, and then multiple homes were hit hard near Prairie Lake, especially those on the eastern shore.
A storm survey was conducted and estimated the winds of 80 to 90 mph. Numerous large trees, up to 4 feet in diameter, were uprooted, snapped, or blown down on the west side of Prairie Lake. ||The damage was concentrated in a one mile swath from near 10th 1/2 Ave and 23rd street, north-northwest to 22nd 1/2 Street and 23rd near Lakewood Park. Almost all of the trees were blown to the north-northwest with some indication of a divergence signature on the west side of the storm damage. One of worst area of damage was at the Sandy Grove Resort where significant structural damage occurred to residences and cabins. ||There were also several lake homes that were severely damage from the fallen trees. No injuries were reported during this event that only lasted 30 seconds to a minute based on eyewitness accounts.
5 mile wide swath of damaging wind extended across much of Barron County. Numerous trees down, roof blown off house, trailers tipped over at RV Park, chopper box and semi truck blown over in Turtle Lake. Roof blown off barn 3 N Poskin. Semi truck blown over on eastern edge of Barron. Trees fell through roofs of houses 1 SW Cameron. Damage figure include totals from all storms in Barron County between 1640 and 1705.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
46,797
Population (ACS)
$217K
Median home value
10
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 |
| Sep 10, 2002 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 11, 2001 | Flood | FLOODING, SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Barron County, Wisconsin?
421 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $54.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Barron County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 178 recorded events — 42.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Barron County?
42 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 35 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Barron County?
10 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Barron County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Barron County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Barron County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 69 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Barron 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
- Ashland County 205
- Bayfield County 322
- Adams County 324
- Brown County 392
- Buffalo County 345
- Burnett County 325
Cite this page
“Barron County, Wisconsin.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/wisconsin/barron-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.