Douglas County, Wisconsin severe weather history spans 307 recorded events between 1964 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 51.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,747 nationally and #48 in Wisconsin.
307
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$24.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Douglas County, Wisconsin severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Douglas County, Wisconsin severe weather history averages 5.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 107 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 34 events fall before 1990 and 273 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $21.2M 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 Douglas County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 159 | 0 | $35K | 74 | 1964–2025 |
| Hail | 106 | 0 | $10K | 4 | 1964–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 16 | 0 | $2.0M | 0 | 1999–2021 |
| Tornado | 12 | 0 | $856K | F2 | 1968–2020 |
| Lightning | 7 | 0 | $276K | 0 | 1996–2017 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $21.2M | 0 | 2011–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2011 |
Decade by decade
Douglas County, Wisconsin severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
13 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953-05-10 | EF2 | 4 | 27 | 105.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-07-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-09-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-06-30 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 39.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-07-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-07-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-06-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-06-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-09-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-07-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.1 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Nemadji River gage, at Superior, normally between 4 and 5 feet, rose to 20 feet early in the morning of June 20th. The river reached a record stage of 27.91 feet at 100 AM on June 21st, then fell back below 20 feet about midnight the night of June 22nd. Most of the runoff, resulting in the high stages, came from excessively heavy rain on Carlton County MN flowing downstream. Many roads were flooded in Superior and surrounding areas from the flood of the river and the excessive rainfall. Many buildings at he University of Wisconsin in Superior (UWS) was flooded. Uninsured damage at UWS was $8-10 million. Damage to homes was estimated at $6.3 million. Damage to businesses was estimated at $4 million.
Warm temperatures early in April led to rapid snowmelt of a well above normal snowpack across the region. Additionally, heavy rainfall on top of the snowpack led to additional high runoff across the county as well. Roads began to be impacted on the 11th with water overtopping low spots leading to washouts and failed culverts. Temperatures cooled during the middle of the month along with a heavy snow event the 16th into the 17th. This allowed the runoff to slow and water levels to drop. All major roads were reported back open by the 18th. Multiple communities in addition to the county issued disaster declarations due to the extent of washed out roads. The Town of Superior estimated $100,000 in damages from the flooding, which was the highest report from an entity in the county.
A weak, brief tornado formed along a line of thunderstorms that moved across Douglas County between 1:00 AM and 2:00 AM CDT. Meteorologists were tracking a number of weak areas of rotation on radar as these storms moved through, and a Tornado Warning was issued for one such area of rotation at 1:10 AM CDT including Maple and Blueberry. At 1:43 AM CDT, meteorologists saw a dramatic increase in radar-detected rotation from this storm just south of Maple, WI, and based on this information issued an additional Tornado Warning using radar-confirmed tornado language to indicate the|confidence in a tornado occurring or imminent. Minutes later, a tornado developed north of Maple and Blueberry knocking down dozens of trees, including snapping some trees off near the base. Just as soon as it developed, the area of rotation weakened|considerably. Radar indicates this tornado may have begun a few minutes earlier but at this time there is not enough conclusive damage evidence that the tornado formed earlier than documented.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
44,229
Population (ACS)
$206K
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 10, 2018 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 9, 2016 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 2, 2012 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Douglas County, Wisconsin?
307 events are on record between 1964 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $24.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Douglas County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 159 recorded events — 51.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Douglas County?
13 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 12 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Douglas County?
10 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Douglas County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Douglas County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Douglas County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 62 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Douglas 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
- Door County 252
- Dunn County 353
- Dodge County 621
- Eau Claire County 317
- Dane County 1,306
- Florence County 82
Cite this page
“Douglas County, Wisconsin.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/wisconsin/douglas-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.