La Crosse County, Wisconsin

What hazards hit La Crosse County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 301 since 1956. 59% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1956 fell in June and July. 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 La Crosse County had?

NOAA records 20 tornadoes in La Crosse County from 1954 to 2025, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 5 injuries recorded in the county. That is 21st 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 20 tornadoes whose track touched La Crosse County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 20, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 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 La Crosse County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the October 30, 2025 dense fog (1 death and $50,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

A 3-vehicle accident resulted in 1 fatality during the morning hours along highway 53 north of Holmen in northern La Crosse County on October 30th. At the time of the incident, dense river valley fog was ongoing in the Mississippi River Valley with visibility reduced to less than 1/4 mile at the La Crosse Regional Airport nearby.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1293481)

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

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 La Crosse 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?

59% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1956 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for La Crosse County

FEMA's register lists 18 declarations that include La Crosse County: 15 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (7) and flood (6).

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 La Crosse County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 83 flood or flash flood records for La Crosse County from 1997 to 2025, on 69 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), La Crosse County ranks 899th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.2 million on 215 claims filed in La Crosse County; the most in one year was 59 in 2001. 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 La Crosse County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates La Crosse County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $53.7 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 La Crosse County

1. La Crosse County 838
2. Vernon County 834
3. Winona County, MN 762
4. Trempealeau County 749
5. Monroe County 686
6. Jackson County 568
7. Houston County, MN 422

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
• Severe thunderstorm wind in WisconsinThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, 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 La Crosse CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download La Crosse County's FEMA declarations (CSV)18 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis