Vernon County, Wisconsin

What hazards hit Vernon County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 214 since 1962. 60% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1962 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 Vernon County had?

NOAA records 25 tornadoes in Vernon County from 1957 to 2026, the strongest rated EF3, with 0 deaths and 2 injuries recorded in the county. 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 25 tornadoes whose track touched Vernon County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 25, 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 Vernon County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 14, 2026 hail ($26.7 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

Destructive hail up to baseball sized and strong winds in Westby right before 5pm on April 14th resulted in widespread damage across the entire town and surrounding areas. Roughly 1100 residences in this area sustained roof, window and siding damage with many vehicles having significant damages as well.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1329065)

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 Vernon 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?

60% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1962 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 Vernon County

FEMA's register lists 23 declarations that include Vernon County: 20 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (10) and flood (8).

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 Vernon County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 155 flood or flash flood records for Vernon County from 1996 to 2024, on 77 days, with 4 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Vernon County ranks 1014th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $4.3 million on 178 claims filed in Vernon County; the most in one year was 36 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 Vernon County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Vernon County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $25.3 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 Vernon County

1. Sauk County 940
2. La Crosse County 838
3. Vernon County 834
4. Monroe County 686
5. Juneau County 553
6. Crawford County 537
7. Allamakee County, IA 469
8. Houston County, MN 422
9. Richland County 399

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 Vernon CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Vernon County's FEMA declarations (CSV)23 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis