Adams County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Adams County: 0.
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.

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.

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Aug 28, 2018Thunderstorm Wind$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thousands of trees were blown down or snapped across southern Adams County. The damage was south of State Highway 82 across Springville and Jackson Townships. The damage started just south of the intersection of State Highways 13 and 82 and continued east to the Marquette County line east of Jordan Lake and was 3 to 4 miles wide in some spots. Some of the downed trees landed on houses. On Jordan Lake, boats were dislodged from docks and floated out into the lake.

2. Apr 10, 2011Tornado$3.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service storm survey team confirmed an EF2 tornado that tracked from approximately three miles west of Arkdale to County Road G. The tornado caused extensive damage to barns, trees, and parts of a house two miles west of Arkdale. A cement silo was knocked over as well. The tornado crossed Highway 21 north of Arkdale hitting nearby homes, irrigation systems, and hundreds of trees. A very distinct convergent pattern was noted in the trees at this location with winds estimated around 125 mph. Several more farms, homes, and trees were hit as the tornado continued toward the south side of Big Roche A Cri Lake near the small community of Cottonville. Several cars and…

3. May 5, 2005Wildfire, Adams$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A grass fire quickly got out of control and eventually burned 3,870 acres in northern Adams County. The fire started 4 miles south-southeast of Big Flats and spread northeastward a distance of approximately seven miles. There were 30 homes lost in the fire, as well as 60 other structures and an unknown number of vehicles. The fire also destroyed a considerable amount of timber. No injuries or deaths were reported.

4. Aug 28, 2018Flash Flood$780,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Runoff from heavy rains produced flash flooding across the southern sections of Adams County. County Highway G was closed because of flooding along Big Spring Creek and water was over County Highway H near White Creek. Additional township roads were closed or had water over them.

5. Mar 14, 2019Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Runoff from melting snow caused flooding to occur along numerous streams across Adams County. Most county highways were impacted by water with numerous closures. Some homes had water in the basements or first floor. Almost 20 homes sustained minor damage with 5 homes and businesses sustaining major damage. At least two drivers unknowingly drove into washouts on county roads. A county-wide state of emergency was declared.

6. Jun 22, 2002Flash Flood$577,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Repeated thunderstorms with heavy rain caused flash flooding over parts of central Wisconsin. Hardest hit was the northeast part of Adams County where Doppler radar estimated total amounts of 15 inches. Cooperative weather observers reported 5 inches of rain at Big Flats, 7 inches in Leola and 10 to 12 inches in areas just north and east of Leola. Numerous roads were closed or badly eroded, with many bridges washed out. Area lakes were full, while levees and dikes nearly breached. Many basements and septic fields flooded out. In northeast Clark County, numerous roads were damaged and closed. Both Adams and Clark County received federal disaster assistance due to the flooding,…

7. Apr 17, 2009Wildfire, Adams$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A controlled burn of grass clippings in a wooded area quickly became out of control and destroyed residences, several vehicles, and personal property.

8. Apr 10, 2011Tornado$426,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service storm survey team confirmed that a second tornado formed near County Road G and Buttercup Ave. north of where the Arkdale to Cottonville tornado dissipated. EF1 damage was noted to some homes and trees, especially along Buttercup Ave. as the tornado tracked into Waushara County. Several center-post irrigation systems were destroyed along with some roof damage to homes and power poles.

9. Jun 1, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down near Cataract (Monroe County), shearing off trees, demolishing barns and sheds, causing light structural damage to a house and tossing farm equipment and debris about 600 to 700 yards. There were no reports of injuries or deaths. This same thunderstorm produced hail as large as softballs through the Oakdale area (Monroe County) and communities southeast along the Highway 12 - Interstate 90/94 corridor. There was extensive roof, siding and window damage in and around Oakdale. Nearly every building in town had damage on the north and west facing walls. Hundreds of cars, including those traveling along Interstate 90/94, had broken windshields and sustained…

10. Jun 22, 2002Flood, Adams$150,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Flooding continued during the day as a result of excessively heavy rainfall Friday night into Saturday morning. Numerous roads remained closed due to washouts, while streams and creeks were overflowing. In northern Adams County, emergency management officials reported high water levels on area lakes, which nearly breached levees and embankments. Local residents joined township and county crews in an all-out effort to sandbag areas along lakes Arrowhead, Camelot and Sherwood.

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

103°FJul 14, 1995

All-time low

−38°FFeb 1, 1918

Warmest night

80°FJul 14, 1995

Coldest day

−16°F2 times, most recently Feb 3, 1996

Wettest day

8.14 inAug 28, 2018

Snowiest day

14.3 inMar 8, 1946

Hottest year

2012mean 49.9°F

Coldest year

1912mean 41.5°F

Wettest year

201858.21 in

Driest year

195817.24 in

Snowiest season

89.5 in2007-08

Station Mauston 1 Se (USC00475178), 865 ft elevation, 17.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1905 to October 23, 2026; 96.5% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USC00475178.
• 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.
• 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.