Taylor County, Wisconsin severe weather history spans 293 recorded events between 1960 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 49.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,818 nationally and #49 in Wisconsin.
293
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$6.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Taylor County, Wisconsin severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Taylor County, Wisconsin severe weather history averages 4.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 97 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 26 events fall before 1990 and 267 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Taylor County, Wisconsin record is lightning, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $4.2M 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 Taylor County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 145 | 0 | $1.1M | 78 | 1967–2025 |
| Hail | 109 | 0 | $395K | 3 | 1973–2026 |
| Tornado | 11 | 0 | $4.2M | F2 | 1960–2026 |
| Heavy Rain | 10 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2023 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $155K | 0 | 2001–2011 |
| Funnel Cloud | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2021 |
| Flash Flood | 4 | 0 | $90K | 0 | 2000–2020 |
| Lightning | 1 | 1 | $0 | 0 | 1999–1999 |
Decade by decade
Taylor County, Wisconsin severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
12 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953-05-10 | EF4 | 2 | 24 | 162.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-05-16 | EF3 | 1 | 25 | 82.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1977-07-30 | EF2 | 1 | 8 | 34.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2002-09-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 17.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-07-03 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-07-06 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 3.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-06-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1960-08-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-07-05 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-06-04 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Taylor County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 31, 1999 | Lightning | MEDFORD | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 6, 1964 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $3K | |
| Jul 3, 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
Flood waters caused several road closures around the county. Specific roads impacted were County Road C north of Goodrich as well as Oriole Drive just east of Stetsonville. In Medford, the Black River came within a few feet of the Curling Club, while the Rib River in Goodrich was within a few inches of the bottom of the bridge on State Highway 64. Due to road closures, the Medford school was closed on the 24th. The rain began the evening of the 22nd and continued until the early morning hours of the 24th, with the majority falling by mid afternoon on the 23rd. Rainfall totals across the county amounted to 4.58 inches at Gad, 3.40 inches at Medford, and 3.27 inches at Jump River.
A sporadic path of wind damage was found from just outside of Gilman northeast to the Taylor/Price County line near County Road N. The damage consisted of several trees blown down, some of which blocked roads, and a power pole down along Babit Avenue near Gilman.
Flooding was reported along County Road M, which closed one lane. There were also reports of washouts in some nearby backyards. In fact, a large part of a back yard of a residence near the intersection of County Road E and M was washed into a lake.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
20,024
Population (ACS)
$197K
Median home value
8
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| 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 |
| Sep 10, 2002 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Taylor County, Wisconsin?
293 events are on record between 1960 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $6.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Taylor County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 145 recorded events — 49.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Taylor County?
12 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 8 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Taylor County?
8 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Taylor County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Taylor County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Taylor County as very low risk, placing it in the 37 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Taylor 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
- Sheboygan County 276
- Trempealeau County 573
- Shawano County 287
- Vernon County 586
- Sawyer County 382
- Vilas County 316
Cite this page
“Taylor County, Wisconsin.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/wisconsin/taylor-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.