Superior

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.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

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 Douglas County, the county that contains Superior.

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 Douglas County, the county that contains Superior.

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 Douglas County, the county that contains Superior.

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 Douglas County.

Mapped by USGS MN (26), NASA (1).

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. Jun 20, 2012Flood$21.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Nemadji River gage, at Superior, normally between 4 and 5 feet, rose to 20 feet early in the morning of June 20th. The river reached a record stage of 27.91 feet at 100 AM on June 21st, then fell back below 20 feet about midnight the night of June 22nd. Most of the runoff, resulting in the high stages, came from excessively heavy rain on Carlton County MN flowing downstream. Many roads were flooded in Superior and surrounding areas from the flood of the river and the excessive rainfall. Many buildings at he University of Wisconsin in Superior (UWS) was flooded. Uninsured damage at UWS was $8-10 million. Damage to homes was estimated at $6.3 million. Damage to businesses was…

2. Jul 25, 1999Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding caused by very heavy thunderstorm rains occurred across much of the county, with many roads washed out or under water. Hardest hit was the central part of the county, including Parkland, Oakland, and Solon Springs townships. U.S. Highway 53 in the city of Solon Springs and County Highway C near South Range were under several feet of water through the night, and traffic had to be rerouted. Streets and basements in the city of Superior were also flooded. The total cost of damage county-wide was nearly $2 million.

3. Apr 6, 2001Flood, Douglas$888,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three heavy rain events plus the melting of a snowpack with a high water content added up to high water levels on many creeks, streams, rivers, and lakes. The worst flooding occurred on the 22nd and 23rd. Many roads were covered with water in both counties, and several houses were affected by high water levels, especially along the Amnicon River in Douglas County. Douglas County loses were estimated at $888,000. Estimates for Bayfield County were not available.

4. Mar 16, 2023Heavy Snow, Douglas$330,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snowfall totals of 3 to 6 inches were reported along the terrain ridge over north-central Douglas County with a high report of 10 inches near Hawthorne. Snow build-up on the roof of a school in Solon Springs led to sagging trusses on the 16th and the school was closed for an additional week following spring break as crews worked to remove the snow and repair the roof.

5. Apr 11, 2023Flood$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Warm temperatures early in April led to rapid snowmelt of a well above normal snowpack across the region. Additionally, heavy rainfall on top of the snowpack led to additional high runoff across the county as well. Roads began to be impacted on the 11th with water overtopping low spots leading to washouts and failed culverts. Temperatures cooled during the middle of the month along with a heavy snow event the 16th into the 17th. This allowed the runoff to slow and water levels to drop. All major roads were reported back open by the 18th. Multiple communities in addition to the county issued disaster declarations due to the extent of washed out roads. The Town of Superior estimated…

6. Sep 22, 2017Lightning$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An assisted living residence was struck by lightning damaging the roof and ignited an electric fire in the attic.

7. Jul 17, 2011Lightning$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning hit a boat lift canopy, which burned the boat, shortly after a nearby house was hit by lightning. The house burned.

8. Aug 3, 2005Lightning$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck a wood pile at Johnson Timber Corporation woodyard, causing the wood to catch fire. Four hundred cords of wood were destroyed.

9. Aug 23, 1998Tornado$29,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An older model trailer home was tipped on its side by a weak tornado. Douglas County Sheriff's deputies followed the funnel cloud and saw it briefly touch down. The east half of the roof of the mobile home was located about 150 yards away, wrapped around a tree. The mobile home was not fastened down. A nearby garage was also destroyed.

10. Oct 9, 2018Strong Wind, Douglas$25,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Max gust recorded at station KSUW, the Superior Airport. The high winds toppled trees and caused power outages. One large pine tree fell on a house in Superior and caused significant roof damage to the home.

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

105°FJul 14, 1936

All-time low

−38°F2 times, most recently Feb 12, 1967

Warmest night

80°F2 times, most recently Aug 9, 1949

Coldest day

−21°FJan 16, 1982

Wettest day

5.75 inJul 1, 1958

Snowiest day

18.0 in2 times, most recently Feb 24, 2001

Hottest year

2024mean 46.2°F

Coldest year

1972mean 35.6°F

Wettest year

199146.52 in

Driest year

197614.89 in

Snowiest season

103.0 in1964-65

Station Superior (USC00478349), 607 ft elevation, 2.4 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1909 to October 27, 2026; 95.1% 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 Douglas 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 USC00478349.
• 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.