Wood County, Wisconsin severe weather history spans 354 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 46.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,463 nationally and #35 in Wisconsin.
354
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
32
Direct injuries
$76.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Wood County, Wisconsin severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Wood County, Wisconsin severe weather history averages 5.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 100 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 57 events fall before 1990 and 297 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is hail, with $45.1M 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 Wood County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 166 | 0 | $705K | 70 | 1956–2025 |
| Hail | 136 | 0 | $45.1M | 5.5 | 1961–2026 |
| Tornado | 19 | 0 | $27.5M | F2 | 1964–2011 |
| Flash Flood | 13 | 0 | $2.6M | 0 | 1996–2026 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 1997–2015 |
| Lightning | 5 | 0 | $321K | 0 | 1997–2021 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $51K | 0 | 1996–2017 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2011 |
Decade by decade
Wood County, Wisconsin severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
22 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-05-22 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 64.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1985-08-12 | EF2 | 0 | 14 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-12-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-07-22 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 21.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1964-05-07 | EF2 | 0 | 14 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-05-07 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 3.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1960-11-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 36.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1992-04-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 9.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-03-30 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 28.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1976-06-13 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 24.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Wood County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 13, 1985 | Tornado | 0 | 14 | $25.0M | |
| May 8, 1964 | Tornado | 0 | 14 | $250K | |
| Jul 23, 1967 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| May 22, 2011 | Tornado | CRANMOOR | 0 | 1 | $1.0M |
| Jun 24, 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | VESPER | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A supercell thunderstorm produced baseball and softball size hail in Port Edwards and Wisconsin Rapids. A 5.5 inch diameter hailstone that fell at Port Edwards was the second largest hailstone ever measured in Wisconsin. (The record largest hailstone in Wisconsin is 5.7 inches in diameter, which fell in Wausau on May 22, 1921.) Approximately 6,000 house and business roofs sustained at least minor damage. Over 500 vehicles were also damaged. Nine schools in the area sustained damage of $6.9 million alone. Total property damage was estimated at $45 million.
Heavy rain fell across Wood County, causing rivers and streams to overflow their banks, washing out roads and damaging homes and businesses. Much of the county received at least 4 inches of rain. The heaviest recorded total was 5.95 inches at Pittsville. Sandbagging was necessary along the Yellow River in southwest Wood County. The flooding caused minor damage to 79 homes and 10 businesses, major damage to 1 home and substantial damage to public infrastructure. As many as 35 roads across the county were closed at some point due to the flooding.
The tornado moved out of Juneau County at 6:03 pm CDT (1703 CST) and moved east-northeast across southern Wood County. The storm hit a campground on the east shore of the Wisconsin River about three miles south of Nekoosa. Over 100 pine trees were snapped and uprooted on the campground, some two feet in diameter (DI 28 DOD 4). Several camper vehicles were damaged by fallen trees. The tornado was seen by campground visitors just before 6:15 pm. The tornado continued east-northeast and snapped or uprooted hundreds of additional trees south of Wisconsin Rapids. The storm damaged at least six homes and several other outbuildings about six miles south-southeast of Wisconsin Rapids. One of the houses lost the entire roof of a garage (DI 2, DOD 4). A woman in the garage at the time sustained injuries when the garage fell on the truck that she was taking shelter in. This area experienced high-end EF1 damage with winds at least 95 to 105 mph. The tornado entered Portage County at 6:20 PM CDT (1720 CST).
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
74,004
Population (ACS)
$176K
Median home value
13
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 Wood County, Wisconsin?
354 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $76.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Wood County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 166 recorded events — 46.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Wood County?
22 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 15 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Wood County?
13 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Wood County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Wood County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Wood County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 76 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Wood 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
- Winnebago County 411
- Waushara County 268
- Waupaca County 360
- Waukesha County 787
- Washington County 418
- Washburn County 261
Cite this page
“Wood County, Wisconsin.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/wisconsin/wood-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.