Eau Claire

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Eau Claire County, the county that contains Eau Claire.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Eau Claire County, the county that contains Eau Claire.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Eau Claire County, the county that contains Eau Claire.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in Eau Claire County.

Mapped by NASA (3).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 10, 2000Flash Flood$3.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Motorist drove around police barricades with vehicle and driver subsequently falling into sinkhole. The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram cited 159 reports of residential damage, and 10 reports of damage to businesses in Eau Claire County. Estimated damages within the city of 1.5 million according to the Public Works director, and another 1.8 million to county property, according to Emergency Management. Rainfall totalled 7.90 inches at the Eau Claire airport, while the NWS cooperative observer 3 miles southwest of Eau Claire measured 5.83 inches rainfall.

2. Mar 22, 2011Winter Storm, Eau Claire$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A period of sleet and snow fell on the onset of the precipitation, with some heavy snowfall rates around midnight. Several reports of snowfall were observed by cooperative and supplemental observers across the county. By the time the snow tapered off to flurries, locally 11 inches fell. The snowfall, sleet, a period of freezing rain and strong wind combined such that a 2000 foot television tower collapsed. Ice chunks from the tower were at least four inches thick. The tower was located in eastern Eau Claire County near Fairchild.

3. Sep 21, 2016Flash Flood$660,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flooding occurred in the city of Eau Claire. 45 homes and businesses sustained minor damage, and 5 sustained major damage due to the flood waters. In addition, a mudslide occurred near Highway 53, on the north side of Eau Claire. Total damages were estimated at $300,000 in the private sector, and $360,000 in the public sector for roads, bridges, and trails infrastructure.

4. Jul 23, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$592,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Half of a chimney was blown off a house and several trees and power lines were downed in Eau Claire. Trees that were uprooted on Jefferson Street, Farwell Street, Mars Avenue, State Street, West Lexington Street, Skeels Avenue, Agres Street, Powell Drive, Taft Avenue, and Keys Street were between 1 and 2 feet in diameter. Two downed trees damaged cars. One home at the intersection of Powell Drive and Hawkins Avenue had a large branch puncture the roof in several locations. The branch also damaged the living room ceiling. Four miles northeast of Eau Claire on County Road Q trees in excess of 10 inches in diameter were damaged, power lines and street signs were damaged, and a pole…

5. May 19, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   School lost portion of roof just southwest of Eau Claire. Several businesses in Eau Claire also had structural damage. Estimated damage for entire county.

6. Dec 10, 2010Winter Storm, Eau Claire$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   At least 11 barn roofs collapsed across the area due to the weight of the heavy snow. Snowfall amounts averaged around 18 inches across the county.

7. May 30, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$467,000
8. Sep 6, 2015Flash Flood$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Local officials reported several roads closed across southern Eau Claire County due to excessive rainfall, with amounts of 3 to 5 inches in a 3 hour period. Several culverts were damaged along Highway 53 and Highway 12 near Augusta. State officials estimated that there was about $300,000 in road damage in Eau Claire County.

9. May 24, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread tree and power line damage occurred in the northwest side of Eau Claire. A trained spotter in his truck had severe straight line winds move it approximately four feet. The hardest hit area was around Carson Park and the Lakeview Cemetery where over 2000 soft and hardwood healthy trees were blown down. There were some residential areas that were affected by fallen trees and other debris which damaged their homes and cars. Plus, a 200 foot radio tower was blown down.

10. Jul 24, 2006Flash Flood$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Cars stalled in one to two feet of water between Eau Claire and Altoona near Fairfax street. Boat floated off of trailer. Portion of one thousand foot storm sewer pipe near UW-Eau Claire collapsed.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

104°F2 times, most recently Aug 1, 1988

All-time low

−45°FJan 30, 1951

Warmest night

82°FJun 22, 2025

Coldest day

−19°F3 times, most recently Feb 2, 1996

Wettest day

5.98 inSep 10, 2000

Snowiest day

22.0 inDec 11, 2010

Hottest year

1998mean 48.8°F

Coldest year

1950mean 40.2°F

Wettest year

197545.42 in

Driest year

197617.22 in

Snowiest season

98.8 in2018-19

Station Chippewa Valley Regional Airport (USW00014991), 884 ft elevation, 3.4 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1949 to October 27, 2026; 100.0% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Eau Claire County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00014991.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.