Iron County, Wisconsin
Tornadoes, hail, floods and severe storms recorded here between 1958 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see which tornadoes came closest to it.
6
Tornado reports
40
Hail reports
9
Floods since 1996
441
All events
3
Deaths
$2.8M
Property damage
Tornado paths in Iron County
The part of each tornado’s path NOAA recorded in this county, 6 in all. Zoom in and the paths widen to their surveyed width.
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated
Year by year
All storm eventsTornadoes
NOAA's storm database records tornadoes back to 1950 and hail and thunderstorm wind back to 1955, but floods only from 1996 on. Older floods are missing here. For those, the U.S. Geological Survey's stream gauge records and flood reports are the place to look.
Most significant events
The strongest tornadoes, deadliest events and biggest damage here, up to 50.
Two men were boating on Lake Superior off Iron County during the morning hours of Thursday the 25th. Northeast winds of 10 to 15 knots with gusts to 25 knots were reported during the early morning hours with waves of 3 to 5 feet. A Small Craft Advisory was in effect. Iron County …
Flash flooding along the Oronto and Parker Creeks damaged the infrastructure of Saxon Harbor and parts of the Saxon Harbor Campground. One man died from the flooding.
Ice Storm Ice Storm
Freezing rain occurred during the early morning hours of the 4th and ended shortly before sunrise. Ice accumulations to upwards of a quarter of an inch were seen along the State Route 77 corridor in the north-central part of the county.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Snow lingered longer across the county with totals ending up in the 6 to 10 inch range. A high report of 14.5 inches was received from Gile.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Snowfall totals across the county were generally in the 4 to 7 inch range for the event. Higher totals were reported along the State Highway 77 corridor with a high report of 11 inches in Gile.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Wind chills as low as -46F were reported in the county.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
A long duration snowfall event featuring lake enhancement led to snowfall totals of 6 to 8 inches across the county. A high report of 8.8 inches was reported in Mercer.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Snowfall across county was in excess of a foot in many places. A high report of 17 inches was received from the Saxon area. Near-blizzard conditions were also reported at times during the event.
Blizzard Blizzard
Blizzard conditions were experienced over parts of Iron County for around 6 hours on the 26th. In addition to the blizzard conditions, very heavy snowfall occurred between the main system and the lake-effect following. Snowfall totals of 10 to 20 inches were common with a high re…
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Heavy lake effect snowfall across the county resulted in snowfall totals of 4 to 8 inches. Higher amounts were recorded along the Penokee Range where 9 to 12 inches fell. A high report of 12 inches was received from Gile.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Significant wind damage was reported with many uprooted trees that were twisted and broken.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Snowfall amounts across the county were in the 3 to 6 inch range. Higher amounts were recorded across the higher elevations in the northern part of the county with a high report of 10 inches in Upson.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Snowfall totals around the county were in the 8 to 12 inch range. A high report of 15 inches was reported in Gile.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
Snow Squall. Visibilities quickly dropped to around 1/4 mile or less as the squall slowly passed through the southern half of the county.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Wind chills as low as -50F were reported at the KIWD Gogebic-Iron County airport in Ironwood.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Lake enhancement of the snowfall associated with a clipper system moving through the region led to impressive snowfall totals across northern Iron County. Areas along Highway 77 saw the highest accumulations around a foot. The highest report was 12.3 inches in Pence.
Drought Drought
December began with D2 Severe Drought conditions across the southern third of the county. Precipitation at the end of November led to the removal of D2 Severe Drought in the county with the update on the 3rd, leaving D1 Moderate Drought in place across the entire county. No addit…
Drought Drought
November began with D2 Severe Drought conditions across all of Iron County. Precipitation during the beginning and middle of the month led to the reduction of D2 Severe Drought across the northern two-thirds of the county with the update on the 26th, leaving just the far southeas…
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Drought Drought
D2 Severe Drought persisted across the northern half of the county to start the month with the complete removal of D2 Severe Drought with the update on the 9th. Rainfall for the month was near to slightly above normal, but no additional changes were observed over the remainder of…
Drought Drought
D2 Severe Drought persisted across the northern three-fourths of the county to start the month. This area became confined to the northern half of the county with the update on the 23rd. No additional changes were observed over the last few weeks of the month. Precipitation for th…
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Snowfall began during the morning of the 24th and continued into the morning of the 25th across Iron County. Snowfall over the first 20 hours or so amounted to around 6 to 8 inches with snowfall totals of 9-11 inches by the time snow ended. A high report of 11.3 inches was report…
Drought Drought
D2 Severe Drought persisted across the southern three-quarters of the county through the middle of the month before the remainder of the county was added to D2 Severe Drought with the update on the 19th. With the update on the 26th, the far southern reaches of the county were rem…
Drought Drought
D2 Severe Drought persisted across the southern three-quarters of the county through the month with no changes in status observed. Precipitation for the month was up to one inch below normal.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Lake effect snowfall ramped up during the midday hours of the 12th and continued into the morning of the 14th. Upwards of 6 to 8 inches had fallen by the morning of the 13th with a high report of 12.5 inches in Gile when the snow stopped the morning of the 14th.
Drought Drought
D2 Severe Drought persisted across the southern three-quarters of the county through the month with no changes in status observed. Precipitation for the month was up to one inch below normal.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
Snow Squall. A CoCoRaHS observer near Van Buskirk reported a glaze of ice on wooden surfaces in addition to snow accumulation in their morning observation, but without any freezing rain. This suggests a flash freeze may have occurred as a snow squall passed through.
Drought Drought
D2 Severe Drought persisted across the southern three-quarters of the county through the month with no changes in status observed. Precipitation was within an inch of normal both above and below for the month.
Drought Drought
November began with D2 Severe Drought across the entirety of the county. Rainfall at the end of October led to the removal of D2 Severe Drought across the far northern portion of the county with the update on the 7th. No additional changes were observed over the remainder of the …
Drought Drought
October began with D2 Severe Drought across the entirety of the county. Rainfall for the month was near to slightly below normal, but rainfall late in September and the early part of the month was not enough to lead to the removal of D2 Severe Drought anywhere throughout the mont…
Drought Drought
The month began with D2 Severe Drought across most of the county aside from a small area of D1 Moderate Drought in the far southeastern corner. D2 Severe Drought then spread across the entirety of the county with the update on the 5th.0 No additional changes were observed over th…
Drought Drought
The month began with D2 Severe Drought over the northern half of the county with D1 Moderate Drought across the southern half. Some improvement was quickly seen on the morning of the first with D1 Moderate Drought spreading across the southern two-thirds of the county. D2 Severe …
Drought Drought
July began with D0 Abnormally Dry and D1 Moderate Drought conditions across the county. D1 Moderate Drought spread across the entire county with the update on the 11th before D2 Severe Drought was added across the northern portion of the county on the 18th. There was a very sligh…
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A tree was downed onto a road in Mercer.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A tree was downed onto a road in Springstead.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
A strong low pressure system brought heavy late season snow to the area on the 29th into the 30th. While much of the snow was lost to melting with higher sun angles and rain falling on the snow at times, parts of the county did report snowfall of 6 to 8 inches with the Gile area …
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Snow began on the afternoon of the 16th and continued through the evening of the 17th. Snowfall totals of 6 to 10 inches were reported across the county with a high report of 12 inches near Saxon. Gusty winds on the 17th led to a period of near blizzard conditions across northern…
Ice Storm Ice Storm
Freezing rain accumulations up to 0.25 inches were recorded across the county with the highest reports coming western reaches of the county.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
A lake-effect snow band produced a swath of 3 to 5 inches of snowfall over the northern part of the county with a high report of 6 inches in Gile.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Snowfall totals of 7 to 13 inches were common across the northern half of the county with higher reports through the snowbelt southwest of Hurley. A high report of 22.8 inches was received near Gile.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Snowfall totals of 2 to 6 inches were reported across the county with a high report of 7.9 inches in Gile.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Snowfall totals of 6 to 10 inches were reported across the county with a high report of 11.3 inches at Gile.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Snowfall totals of 3 to 7 inches were reported across Iron County with higher amounts to 9 near Gile.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Snowfall totals of 6 to 9 inches were reported across the county with higher reports to 8.1 inches near Saxon.
Blizzard Blizzard
A three hour period of blizzard conditions was recorded at the Hurley-Ironwood Airport during the late afternoon and early evening hours of the 23rd. A peak wind gust of 40 mph was recorded during this period. Additionally, a spotter near Gile received 7 inches of new snow accumu…
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Snowfall of 4 to 6 inches was observed across the county with a high report of 6.1 inches near Mercer.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Snowfall totals of 5 to 8 inches were recorded across Iron County with a high report of 9.5 inches near Mercer.
Events by year, as a table
| Year | Events | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 |
| 2024 | 12 | 0 |
| 2023 | 18 | 0 |
| 2022 | 17 | 0 |
| 2021 | 14 | 0 |
| 2020 | 18 | 1 |
| 2019 | 13 | 0 |
| 2018 | 18 | 0 |
| 2017 | 4 | 0 |
| 2016 | 16 | 1 |
| 2015 | 3 | 0 |
| 2014 | 18 | 0 |
| 2013 | 20 | 0 |
| 2012 | 10 | 0 |
| 2011 | 14 | 0 |
| 2010 | 23 | 1 |
| 2009 | 20 | 0 |
| 2008 | 15 | 0 |
| 2007 | 22 | 0 |
| 2006 | 15 | 0 |
| 2005 | 12 | 0 |
| 2004 | 7 | 0 |
| 2003 | 9 | 0 |
| 2002 | 17 | 0 |
| 2001 | 14 | 0 |
| 2000 | 17 | 0 |
| 1999 | 13 | 0 |
| 1998 | 9 | 0 |
| 1997 | 10 | 0 |
| 1996 | 16 | 0 |
| 1995 | 1 | 0 |
| 1991 | 1 | 0 |
| 1990 | 1 | 0 |
| 1985 | 3 | 0 |
| 1983 | 1 | 1 |
| 1982 | 3 | 0 |
| 1980 | 1 | 0 |
| 1970 | 1 | 1 |
| 1968 | 1 | 0 |
| 1958 | 1 | 1 |
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in Iron County, measured to its path.
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