Portage County, Wisconsin severe weather history spans 331 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 46.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,599 nationally and #42 in Wisconsin.
331
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$11.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Portage County, Wisconsin severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Portage County, Wisconsin severe weather history averages 4.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 108 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 46 events fall before 1990 and 285 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Portage County, Wisconsin record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $4.8M 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 Portage County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 153 | 0 | $4.8M | 83 | 1967–2025 |
| Hail | 108 | 0 | $200 | 3 | 1964–2026 |
| Tornado | 25 | 2 | $3.9M | F4 | 1951–2025 |
| Lightning | 12 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1997–2016 |
| Heavy Rain | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2015 |
| Flash Flood | 9 | 0 | $2.2M | 0 | 1998–2021 |
| Funnel Cloud | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2017 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $106K | 0 | 1999–2019 |
Decade by decade
Portage County, Wisconsin severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
26 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 23 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951-09-26 | EF4 | 6 | 3 | 26.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-04-03 | EF2 | 2 | 2 | 18.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-05-22 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 64.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2004-06-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-05-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-04-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-06-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-06-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-07-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-08-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.4 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Portage County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1956 | Tornado | 2 | 2 | $250K | |
| Jun 14, 1976 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Jun 7, 2007 | Hail | STEVENS PT | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado entered Portage County from Wood County at 6:20 pm CDT (1720 CST) mainly over farmland. The twister continued to snap trees (DI 28, DOD 4) and overturn agricultural irrigation systems. About six miles south of Plover, a nearly half-mile long row of power poles were bent over (DI 24, DOD 3). The tornado crossed Interstate 39 at Coddington Road two miles west of Keene. The tornado grew to nearly 700 yards wide as it passed just north of Keene and heavily damaged a farmstead. A silo was damaged and barn flattened (DI 1, DOD 6). Several outbuildings were also damaged or destroyed. Along the path, at least two dozen irrigation systems were overturned and damaged (resulting in over $1 million in losses) and many hundreds of trees snapped or uprooted. This area also experienced high-end EF1 damage with winds of 100 to 110 mph. The tornado dissipated about nine miles southeast of Plover at about 6:46 pm (1746 CST). The average path width was 300 yards.
Heavy rain fell across Portage County, causing rivers and streams to overflow their banks, washing out roads and damaging homes and businesses. Much of the county had in excess of 4 inches of rain. The highest recorded total was 5.65 inches at Stevens Point. County crews sandbagged several roads in the northwest part of the county. The flooding caused minor damage to 36 homes and 2 businesses and major damage to 1 home.
Widespread thunderstorms wind damage occurred in the Stevens Point and Whiting areas. There were pockets of more significant damage from downtown Stevens Point south to Whiting. Hundreds of trees were blown down or had broken branches and limbs. Stevens Point lost $108,000 worth of city-owned trees in the storm. One home was destroyed, 8 were heavily damaged and 72 sustained minor damage from the storm. The storm left 17,000 customers without electrical power.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
70,832
Population (ACS)
$243K
Median home value
12
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 |
| Oct 21, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| Jun 18, 2004 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Portage County, Wisconsin?
331 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $11.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Portage County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 153 recorded events — 46.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Portage County?
26 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 23 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Portage County?
12 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Portage County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Portage County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Portage County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 63 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Portage 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
- Polk County 367
- Price County 347
- Pierce County 335
- Racine County 434
- Pepin County 135
- Richland County 268
Cite this page
“Portage County, Wisconsin.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/wisconsin/portage-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.