PlainHazard

Wisconsin high wind and dust storms

Every recorded high wind record since 1996 · 72 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,739 high wind and dust records in Wisconsin from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 56 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the November 10, 1998 high wind: 4 deaths, 14 injuries and $17.4 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 18 records. Wisconsin ranks 29th of 52 states and territories by count and 34th of 51 per square mile.

High wind and dust storms in Wisconsin, 1996 to 2026

Wind records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
1,7391996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
56average
Deaths
2239 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$42Mas filed
Busiest year
2001172 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are high wind and dust records common in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin averages about 56 high wind and dust records a year since 2000, 29th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2001 (172). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Wisconsin records 321 high wind and dust records since 1996, 34th of 51 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Rhode Island 7061
  2. 2. New Jersey 4882
  3. 3. Massachusetts 4776
  4. 4. Delaware 3705
  5. 5. Maryland 1330
  6. 6. Connecticut 1301
  7. 7. Vermont 1178
  8. 8. Hawaii 1067
  9. 9. New York 1028
  10. 10. Wyoming 900
  11. 34. Wisconsin 321

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Wisconsin have the most high wind and dust records?

Per square mile, Milwaukee County leads Wisconsin: 72 days with a high wind record since 1996, 298.2 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Milwaukee County has the most wind records (75 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Milwaukee County 298.2 (75)
  2. Kenosha County 261.2 (73)
  3. Ozaukee County 236.0 (55)
  4. Racine County 213.5 (74)
  5. Washington County 134.7 (58)
  6. Waukesha County 118.2 (66)
  7. Sheboygan County 117.3 (62)
  8. Walworth County 111.6 (62)
  9. Jefferson County 98.8 (55)
  10. Green Lake County 88.7 (31)
  11. Green County 87.3 (51)
  12. Rock County 79.4 (58)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is the windy season in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin's high wind and dust records by month. The busiest month is April (295 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 77 · Feb 112 · Mar 266 · Apr 295 · May 168 · Jun 79 · Jul 14 · Aug 28 · Sep 102 · Oct 221 · Nov 173 · Dec 204 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest high wind and dust records in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1998-11-10 High WindMilwaukee County · forecast zone Milwaukee One storm episode: 18 records in 18 places; the totals are the episode's. Screaming high winds raked all of southcentral and southeast Wisconsin's counties for about 17 hours, resulting in widespread damage to thousands of trees, homes, businesses, power poles, power lines, street lights, road signs, billboards, fences, flagpoles, barns, sheds, crops, boats, cars, trucks, campers, trains, ... 4 14 $17M
2018-10-20 Strong WindRacine County · forecast zone Racine One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. The passage of a strong cold front and vigorous upper low pressure area produced gusty gradient winds and numerous rain and snow showers for the morning into the early afternoon hours. Gusty winds of 45 to 55 mph occurred and were most prevalent within the precipitation areas. These strong winds caused high waves on ... 44 kt wind 2 1 $25K
2021-03-28 Strong WindFond du Lac County · forecast zone Fond Du Lac Strong winds and high waves on Lake Winnebago resulted in a canoe capsizing during the evening of March 29th. The canoe was located about one mile north of the city of Fond du Lac and the Fond du Lac river outlet, on Lake Winnebago. Two young male canoeists, neither wearing a personal flotation device, fell into the ... 40 kt wind 2 0 –
2003-11-12 Strong WindWinnebago County · forecast zone Winnebago Strong winds developed across northern Wisconsin in the wake of a rapidly intensifying low pressure system that moved across Wisconsin and northern Lake Michigan. Scattered trees and power lines were downed by wind gusts of 45 to 55 mph that were recorded across much of northeast Wisconsin. Downed tree branches ... 41 kt wind 2 0 –
1998-11-10 High WindVernon County · forecast zone Vernon One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. Damaging winds associated with an intense low pressure knocked down power lines, trees, buildings, signs and left many without power. A 75 foot flag pole on Grandad Bluff near La Crosse was sheared off, while winds gusted to 93 mph at the nearby National Weather Service. Numerous duck hunters were stranded and rescued ... 1 2 $2.1M
1998-11-10 High WindDoor County · forecast zone Door One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. An intense area of low pressure moved across the Midwest on November 10, producing very high winds, rain and snow across the region. The low, which tracked from central Iowa to western Lake Superior, resulted in record minimum pressures in Iowa and Minnesota and an unusually widespread high wind event across ... 1 1 $815K
2014-10-31 Strong WindRacine County · forecast zone Racine High winds blew over a 51-foot grain auger early in the afternoon, killing a farmer. The farm was located on highway C, northeast of Union Grove and southwest of the Ives Grove area of Yorkville. Also, large tree branches fell in two separate areas of the city of Racine landing in the streets. One large tree branch ... 42 kt wind 1 0 $6K
2014-02-20 High WindRock County · forecast zone Rock High winds out of the northwest were a factor in a multi-vehicle accident that killed a 86 year old man near the intersection of Highway 11 and Dunbar Road in the Town of Plymouth. The car driven by the 86 year old man crossed the center-line going westbound and collided with an eastbound Freightliner. Wind gusts were ... 37 kt wind 1 0 –
2013-11-17 Strong WindKenosha County · forecast zone Kenosha A man was killed when a strong wind gust forced him to lose control of his motorcycle. 45 kt wind 1 0 –
2011-09-29 Strong WindMilwaukee County · forecast zone Milwaukee Strong winds broke off tree limbs and knocked down power lines across Milwaukee County with sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph, and peak wind gusts up to 45 mph. The power outages resulted indirectly to the death of a 49-year-old man with muscular dystrophy who was dependent on a ventilator. Backup batteries that powered ... 39 kt wind 1 0 $3K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest high wind and dust records in Wisconsin

Wisconsin: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1998-11-10 High WindMilwaukee County · forecast zone Milwaukee One storm episode: 18 records in 18 places; the totals are the episode's. 4 14 $17M
1998-11-10 High WindVernon County · forecast zone Vernon One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. 1 2 $2.1M
2001-04-07 High WindPierce County · forecast zone Pierce 53 kt wind 0 0 $1.7M
1998-11-10 High WindDoor County · forecast zone Door One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. 1 1 $815K
2010-10-26 High WindDane County · forecast zone Dane One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. 54 kt wind 0 2 $744K
2007-10-23 High WindMarathon County · forecast zone Marathon 56 kt wind 0 0 $712K
1997-04-06 High WindMilwaukee County · forecast zone Milwaukee 0 0 $552K
1997-04-06 High WindKenosha County · forecast zone Kenosha 0 2 $552K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are high wind and dust records becoming more frequent in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

High wind and dust storms: Wisconsin and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeWisconsinUnited StatesWisconsin's share
1996-9925414,0261.8%
2000s73537,2542.0%
2010s60441,7481.4%
2020-2614636,3000.4%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent high wind and dust records in Wisconsin

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-04-27 High WindWalworth County · forecast zone Walworth 50 kt wind 0 0 $4K
2026-04-27 High WindMilwaukee County · forecast zone Milwaukee 67 kt wind 0 0 $250K
2026-03-31 High WindLafayette County · forecast zone Lafayette 50 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-03-31 High WindRacine County · forecast zone Racine 58 kt wind 0 0 $30K
2026-03-13 High WindLa Crosse County · forecast zone La Crosse 51 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-03-13 High WindGrant County · forecast zone Grant 52 kt wind 0 0 –
2026-03-13 High WindSheboygan County · forecast zone Sheboygan 55 kt wind 0 0 $25K
2026-03-13 High WindOzaukee County · forecast zone Ozaukee 56 kt wind 0 0 $25K
2026-03-13 High WindWaukesha County · forecast zone Waukesha 50 kt wind 0 0 $50K
2026-03-13 High WindKenosha County · forecast zone Kenosha 50 kt wind 0 0 $30K
2026-03-13 High WindMilwaukee County · forecast zone Milwaukee 59 kt wind 0 0 $50K
2026-03-13 High WindRacine County · forecast zone Racine 53 kt wind 0 0 $15K

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

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