Lincoln County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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

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.

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.

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Apr 10, 2011Tornado$10.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado that formed north of Hamburg (Marathon County) at 6:08 pm CDT (1708 CST) moved into Lincoln County at 6:10 pm CDT (1710 CST). The tornado reached EF3 intensity on the north side of Merrill at approximately 6:22 pm, where 22 homes and seven businesses were destroyed. Several homes lost nearly all exterior and some interior walls (DI 2, DOD 7-8). In addition, 22 homes and one business sustained major damage, and 20 home and four businesses sustained minor damage. A 67 year old male was thrown over 200 feet from his bedroom and suffered broken ribs, a ruptured spleen, and a bruised lung. Another person sustained minor injuries. The tornado tore a path over 20 miles long…

2. Jul 16, 1997Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorms affected much of northern, central and east-central Wisconsin during the afternoon and evening of July 16 with tornadoes, downburst winds and large hail. Millions of dollars in damage resulted from the biggest severe weather outbreak to affect the region in years.The storms began to develop early in the afternoon across north-central Wisconsin. Hail the size of baseballs fell in Minocqua (Oneida co.), damaging nearly 200 vehicles. As those storms moved southeast and weakened, a new supercell thunderstorm developed over Lincoln county. This new storm produced wind damage in Tomahawk and softball size hail northeast of Merrill. About 20 minutes later, a tornado…

3. May 19, 1996Lightning$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning started a fire that destroyed a house 3 miles southeast of Merrill.

4. Jul 30, 2002Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms moved through Wisconsin in very warm and unstable air ahead of a cold front. Severe thunderstorm winds and tornadoes downed trees and power lines and damaged buildings across a large swath of central, north central and east central Wisconsin. Thousands of trees and power lines were downed by high winds from the storms. An 11 year old Boy Scout was killed and another was seriously injured when trees landed on their tent at Camp Napowan (Waushara co.).High winds pushed a house off its foundation and blew a boat and trailer into a neighbor's yard near Merrill (Lincoln co.). Some downed trees damaged or destroyed buildings or vehicles when they fell. A church steeple was…

5. Jul 18, 1996Tornado$90,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down and uprooted two trees at Bradley Park, then moved southeast across Lake Mohawkskin, flipping two boats over. It moved back on land and tore part of a roof off of a tavern and a roof off of a house. A garage was removed from its foundation, leaving a lawn mower untouched. The tornado moved into the Road Lake area, where it produced its most significant damage. Three cottages were damaged after trees fell on them. Several eyewitnesses saw the tornado on Road Lake shortly before it dissipated.

6. Sep 30, 2002Tornado$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorms developed in unstable air in the vicinity of an east to west warm front that stretched across northern Wisconsin. These storms produced large hail, wind damage and two tornadoes. Hail to golf ball size covered the ground in the Minocqua area (Oneida co.) and golf ball to tennis ball size hail fell from Arbor Vitae (Vilas co.) to St. Germain (Vilas co.). The most significant wind damage was in southern Oneida county. In the Woodboro area (Oneida co.) a tree that was downed by high winds smashed a pickup truck.A tornado touched down in southeast Florence county. It destroyed a pole barn, a garage that was under construction and 6 to 10 outbuildings in its path.…

7. Jul 30, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms moved through Wisconsin in very warm and unstable air ahead of a cold front. Severe thunderstorm winds and tornadoes downed trees and power lines and damaged buildings across a large swath of central, north central and east central Wisconsin. Thousands of trees and power lines were downed by high winds from the storms. An 11 year old Boy Scout was killed and another was seriously injured when trees landed on their tent at Camp Napowan (Waushara co.).High winds pushed a house off its foundation and blew a boat and trailer into a neighbor's yard near Merrill (Lincoln co.). Some downed trees damaged or destroyed buildings or vehicles when they fell. A church steeple was…

8. Nov 10, 1998High Wind, Lincoln$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense area of low pressure moved across the Midwest on November 10, producing very high winds, rain and snow across the region. The low, which tracked from central Iowa to western Lake Superior, resulted in record minimum pressures in Iowa and Minnesota and an unusually widespread high wind event across Wisconsin. The strong winds lasted for much of the day.The high winds caused one fatality and an injury in the area, both in Door county. A 67 year old Door county woman died a week after being blown down by a strong gust of wind. Her head hit the concrete ground, causing the fatal injury.Trees, street signs and power poles were damaged or destroyed by the strong winds across…

9. Aug 7, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees, some up to 3 feet in diameter, were snapped off or uprooted at Council Grounds State Park. Around 150 campers sought shelter in concrete restrooms before the storm hit, thanks in great part to early warnings from the National Weather Service. Ginseng sheds and a roof of a machine shed were also damaged across other parts of southern Lincoln county.

10. Jul 30, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$25,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Thunderstorms moved through Wisconsin in very warm and unstable air ahead of a cold front. Severe thunderstorm winds and tornadoes downed trees and power lines and damaged buildings across a large swath of central, north central and east central Wisconsin. Thousands of trees and power lines were downed by high winds from the storms. An 11 year old Boy Scout was killed and another was seriously injured when trees landed on their tent at Camp Napowan (Waushara co.).High winds pushed a house off its foundation and blew a boat and trailer into a neighbor's yard near Merrill (Lincoln co.). Some downed trees damaged or destroyed buildings or vehicles when they fell. A church steeple was…

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

110°F2 times, most recently Jul 14, 1936

All-time low

−48°FJan 12, 1909

Warmest night

78°FMay 31, 1934

Coldest day

−20°FJan 18, 1962

Wettest day

5.90 inJul 23, 1912

Snowiest day

21.2 inJan 6, 1929

Hottest year

1998mean 46.3°F

Coldest year

2014mean 38.2°F

Wettest year

191246.52 in

Driest year

191019.73 in

Snowiest season

98.8 in1921-22

Station Merrill (USC00475364), 1,250 ft elevation, 7.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1905 to October 23, 2026; 99.5% 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 USC00475364.
• 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.