Wisconsin Tornado History: 3 F5s and the Night Barneveld Vanished
Wisconsin doesn’t belong to Tornado Alley, yet the record is unnervingly violent: 1,557 tornadoes since 1950, 101 deaths, and three F5s — including the 1984 Barneveld tornado that struck at 1 a.m. and nearly erased an entire village. For a northern state, that F5 count is the story most maps miss.
Most people file Wisconsin under “too far north for bad tornadoes.” The NOAA Storm Prediction Center archive says otherwise. Since 1950 the state has recorded 1,557 tornadoes and three F5s — the maximum rating on the scale, the kind of tornado that levels well-built homes. Only a handful of states have ever produced one; Wisconsin has three.
The state’s 101 tornado deaths are concentrated in a few catastrophes, and its season looks nothing like the Plains’. Here’s what 75 years of data show.
Wisconsin’s deadliest tornadoes
Ranked by fatalities, from the SPC record. Two of the top two are F5s, and both struck in June — the heart of Wisconsin’s summer season. SPC totals run slightly under press tallies because the archive counts confirmed segments only.
| Date | Area | Rating | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 4, 1958 | Colfax Wisconsin’s deadliest tornado on record. An F5 that struck the village of Colfax in Dunn County during a June outbreak in the state’s northwest. | F5 | 21 |
| Jun 8, 1984 | Barneveld The most infamous. It hit shortly before 1 a.m. with almost no warning and destroyed about 90% of the village of Barneveld. SPC logs it under the June 7–8, 1984 outbreak. | F5 | 9 |
| Apr 3, 1956 | Berlin A spring F4 that nearly leveled the town of Berlin in Green Lake County — part of the same April 2–3, 1956 outbreak that struck West Michigan. | F4 | 7 |
| Sep 26, 1951 | Waupaca A violent early-fall F4 near Waupaca; five members of one family were killed at their farm home north of town. | F4 | 6 |
| Jun 4, 1958 | Northwest Wisconsin A second violent tornado on the same June 4, 1958 outbreak day that produced the Colfax F5. | F4 | 4 |
Barneveld, 1 a.m., June 8, 1984
Just before 1 a.m. on June 8, 1984, an F5 dropped onto the sleeping village of Barneveld in Iowa County, southwest of Madison. There was almost no warning — the storm arrived in the dead of night, and the town’s siren reportedly failed. It killed 9 people, injured about 200, and destroyed roughly 90% of the village along a 36-mile path.
Barneveld is the textbook case of why nighttime tornadoes are so lethal: people are asleep, can’t see the sky, and have seconds to react. It’s the same dynamic that makes tornadoes in the Deep South so deadly — see how the numbers compare in our Dixie Alley analysis.
Wisconsin’s three F5 tornadoes
Three times a tornado in Wisconsin has reached the top of the scale — more than most southern Plains states. Two were deadly; the third, at Oakfield in 1996, was one of the luckiest near-misses in the record.
Wisconsin’s deadliest tornado — 21 killed in the northwestern village of Colfax.
The 1 a.m. F5 that erased about 90% of the village; 9 killed, 200 injured, on a 36-mile path.
An F5 with estimated winds near 265 mph and roughly $40 million in damage — but no deaths, thanks to daytime timing and warnings.
Wisconsin’s summer tornado season
Forget the Plains’ spring peak. Wisconsin’s season is a summer one: June is the clear peak (450 tornadoes), with July and August close behind. That’s months later than Oklahoma or Kansas, driven by hot, humid warm-sector afternoons rather than spring drylines. Monthly counts from the SPC data:
You can pull the actual conditions for any Wisconsin tornado day back to 1970 with our historical weather lookup.
The latest chapter: Appleton–Menasha, July 27, 2026
Wisconsin’s record is still being written. On July 27, 2026, an EF3 tore through the Fox Valley, striking Appleton and Menasha with 140 mph winds along a path up to roughly 1,800 yards wide — the widest tornado in the NWS Green Bay office’s history. It’s the strongest tornado to hit that corner of the state in decades. We covered it in detail in our Menasha / Fox Valley tornado history.
Frequently asked questions
How many F5 tornadoes has Wisconsin had?
Three F5 tornadoes in the NOAA SPC record (1950–2024), plus 17 F4s — a striking total for a northern-tier state. They are the June 4, 1958 Colfax F5 (21 killed), the June 8, 1984 Barneveld F5 (9 killed) and the July 18, 1996 Oakfield F5 (no deaths, winds near 265 mph).
What was the worst tornado in Wisconsin?
By death toll, the June 4, 1958 Colfax F5, which killed 21. By fame and impact, the June 8, 1984 Barneveld F5, which struck around 1 a.m. with almost no warning and destroyed roughly 90% of the village, killing 9 and injuring 200.
When is tornado season in Wisconsin?
Summer. Wisconsin’s tornado season runs months later than the Plains: June is the clear peak (450 tornadoes in the record), followed by July (355) and August (229). The season is driven by warm-sector setups on hot, humid summer afternoons, not spring dryline storms.
How many tornadoes does Wisconsin get per year?
About 21 a year on average — 1,557 tornadoes from 1950 to 2024. Activity has trended up in recent decades: the busiest years on record are 2005 (63 tornadoes), 2010 (46) and 1980 (43). The July 27, 2026 Appleton–Menasha EF3, the widest tornado in NWS Green Bay history, is the latest chapter.
Explore the tornado record yourself
Every figure here comes from the NOAA SPC database, which we've made browsable. Map any state, filter by rating, or read the stories behind the record books: