Dane County, Wisconsin

What hazards hit Dane County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 555 since 1958. 49% of its hail reports since 1958 fell in April and May. The rank column places the county among Wisconsin's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Dane County had?

NOAA records 76 tornadoes in Dane County from 1955 to 2026, the strongest rated EF3, with 4 deaths and 66 injuries recorded in the county. That is 12th of 72 Wisconsin counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 78 tornadoes whose track touched Dane County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 76: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 4 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Wisconsin.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Dane County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 17, 2026 tornado ($167,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Tornado began west of a farm in an open field and moved east southeast through the northern portion of Belleville. Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted. Peeled shingles and siding as well as damage to soffit and guttering on several homes. A garage on one home fell in after its roof was lifted. A garage on another home was breached at the garage door and the structure failed, peeling downwind and taking a large portion of the dwelling's roof decking. The tornado continued east southeast over a farm field damaging corn and a long water sprinkler. The end of the path east of County Road D featured additional trees snapped and uprooted before lifting in the Brooklyn Wildlife Area.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1353815)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Dane County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

49% of its hail reports since 1958 fell in April and May. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Dane County

FEMA's register lists 19 declarations that include Dane County: 14 major disasters, 5 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (8) and snowstorm (3).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Dane County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 83 flood or flash flood records for Dane County from 1996 to 2026, on 64 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Dane County ranks 694th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $8.7 million on 333 claims filed in Dane County; the most in one year was 85 in 2018. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Dane County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Dane County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $182 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Dane County

1. Dane County 1,787
2. Rock County 1,215
3. Jefferson County 1,097
4. Dodge County 1,084
5. Sauk County 940
6. Columbia County 928
7. Green County 872
8. Iowa County 812

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in WisconsinEvery Wisconsin tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Hail in WisconsinThe state's hail reports, by county, year and month
• The Wisconsin recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Dane CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Dane County's FEMA declarations (CSV)19 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis