10 extreme Wisconsin weather events caught on camera
Blizzards, tornadoes, and floods are no strangers to us. Check out this footage of some extreme weather events Wisconsin has experienced over the years.
Wisconsin weather is a gamble. You can have a sweltering summer day with humidity through the roof, or you may experience what seems like a mountain of snow waiting for you outside your door. Much of the Midwest can relate, but somehow, our extreme weather events feel truly Wisconsin.
Looking back at the state’s history, Wisconsin’s extreme weather has resulted in some wild statistics. For instance, in 1933, the state experienced 83 inches of snow at one time, and in 1946, Wisconsin was subjected to nearly a foot of rain in a single day (via National Weather Service). These are unprecedented numbers, but they’re very real. They’re also so old that finding footage of them might prove challenging, if not impossible.
That’s why we’ve scoured the internet to find the most extreme weather events in our beautiful state that were actually caught on camera. Sit back, buckle up, and steel yourself to see floods, tornadoes, and blizzards that truly rocked America’s Dairyland.
1. Five tornadoes touched down in Wisconsin on the same July 2025 day
One twister is dangerous. Five twisters are, well, another thing entirely. Unfortunately, that’s precisely what the Prairie du Sac area was forced to handle on July 16, 2025. Footage from NBC News shows several different tornadoes ravaging through the area, collecting flying debris from homes, businesses, and everything else around them as they forge onward. Onlookers can be seen recording the tornadoes as they advance; meanwhile, newscasters urge folks to take shelter wherever possible. According to Spectrum News, these twisters took the state’s year-to-date tornado count to 31.
2. Tornadoes tore through Wisconsin a month before the July 2025 incident as well
A month before the quintet of tornadoes touched down on Wisconsin soil, another twister decimated the state. The tornado set a course through Dodge County, and it left leveled buildings and general destruction in its path, from wrecked homes to brutalized businesses, as seen in footage posted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. If that weren’t enough, electricity was knocked out for many folks in the area, leading to confusion amid all of the tragedy.
3. One week in July 2017 was fraught with severe flooding
The dead of summer is bad for heat, but it’s just as bad for extreme weather, as we’re quickly learning. The week of July 14, 2017, saw severe flooding sweep through a few counties in Wisconsin, including Racine and Kenosha. The flooding also affected other Midwest states, like Ohio, but Wisconsin got hit with the brunt of it. Footage captured by WCCO – CBS Minnesota shows Wisconsin drivers maneuvering through tall water, as well as houses partially submerged. Heavy rainfall led to water sources like the Fox River overflowing, sending water surging through local communities.
4. That time a blizzard buried southern Wisconsin
The winter of 2010 to 2011 wasn’t exactly a mild one. In mid-February, the southern half of Wisconsin was pelted with snow—so much snow that some residents skied to get around. Footage posted by Channel 3000 / News 3 Now shows mounds of snow covering homes, roads, fields, and everything in between, leaving residents shoveling scoop after scoop in an attempt to break free from the snow’s shackles. This might have just been one of the biggest snowstorms in Wisconsin’s history.
To watch the video, click here.
5. Hail plagued Wisconsin in 2011, too
Unfortunately, the winter of 2011 bled into the spring months, and April that year featured heavy hail that was not only large in size but also extremely loud. It goes without saying that this was a strange occurrence for mid-April, but throwback footage of the incident posted by the YouTube account Milwaukee Mental Mentality in July 2025 shows just how bad this hail really was. It poured from the sky like a rapid rainfall, not like the borderline gentle hail we’re used to getting. We’d hate to have been trying to sleep during this storm!
6. The drastic drought of 2012 left Wisconsin arid
Extreme weather isn’t limited to events you can easily see and feel; droughts are just as extreme and dangerous as blizzards and tornadoes. A severe drought descended on Wisconsin in 2012, leaving plants to wither, humans to writhe in heat, and everything to look a little more gray. Footage posted by TMJ4 News at the time shows yellow lawns that look completely parched, as well as signs alerting residents that they can only water their lawns during specific hours on certain days. The circumstances were dire, and water was in short supply. To say the first big rainfall after this drought was a blessing is an understatement.
7. Rain can be too much of a good thing
Well, that might not actually be true. Rain was needed, but the universe seemed to reimburse the state with all of the rain it had missed at once. In July 2012, heavy rain washed over northeast Wisconsin for nearly a full week. WLUK-TV FOX 11 reported footage of the heavy rainfall at the time, showing standing water in many places and residents fatigued by the back-and-forth nature of the state’s weather. First came the drought, and then the flood. The balance had finally been restored, but at what cost?
8. You could play sports with these hail balls
There’s something about wild hail phenomena happening outside of winter months. In September 2022, hail fell over the western Wisconsin sky like never before. Instead of a normal sprinkle of hail or even a spattering of hail like the aforementioned April 2011 storm, this extreme weather event featured hail balls the size of tennis balls. According to KARE 11 footage from the time, the hail chunks were giant, and they were heavy enough to shatter car windshields upon impact. There’s no telling exactly how much home and auto damage was accrued during this overnight hailstorm, but it must have been hefty.
9. This tornado from 1899 is still regarded as one of the state’s most severe
Tornadoes can level towns in what seems like an instant, and that’s largely what happened to one Wisconsin town in 1899. Weather experts and historians alike still consider it one of the state’s worst because of its destruction—yes, even including the five that touched down on one day this year. Photos from the time are included in a WCCO – CBS Minnesota segment, and they show the town flattened as far as the eye can see. It seemed to be unrelenting, leading to unparalleled devastation. According to the news station, the tornado has been retrospectively deemed an EF5, the most powerful form of tornado.
10. July 2017 flooding left this farmer feeling frazzled
Kenosha County has experienced several of the aforementioned extreme weather events, including the flooding of July 2017. Heavy rainfall led to standing water on roads, around homes, and on farms, causing extensive property damage. As seen in footage from TMJ4 News, the flooding was so bad that one farmer was left stumped when his farm was buried in water after growing his crops all year. You see, peak harvest and selling season was just around the corner, and with so much water, his plants stood a high chance of rotting. Seeing the footage of his farm largely underwater proves heartbreaking time and time again.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.
