Manitowoc County

Every recorded tornado

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

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

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. May 12, 2000Hail$46.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   During the mid and late morning of May 12, a high precipitation supercell thunderstorm developed in west-central Wisconsin and tracked east across the state for over two and a half hours. The storm produced a prolific path of large hail, a brief tornado, and a significant wet microburst across central and east central Wisconsin. The storm was one of the most damaging thunderstorms in Wisconsin history, producing well over $100 million in damage.The thunderstorm developed north of a warm front, which was located across the Wisconsin/Illinois border. The setup was favorable for what is known as "elevated" convection; that is, the source of the instability was aloft, and not…

2. Jul 1, 2006Hail$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms moved across northeast Wisconsin as a cold front pushed through the area. Several large storms produced hail of 2 inches to 4 inches in diameter during the afternoon and evening. Four inch diameter hail was reported in Suring (Oconto co.) and hailstones of just over 3 inches in diameter were measured east of Oconto Falls (Oconto co.) and near Branch (Manitowoc co.). An observer found tennis ball size hail near Hayes (Oconto co.) half an hour after the storms ended there. Damage amounts listed in this report are estimates. Gaint hail caused damage to more than 700 vehicles, denting them and smashing their windows. The hail damaged at least 800 homes, breaking windows,…

3. Jul 13, 2004Tornado$1.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms developed in moist and unstable air as a cold front and upper level trough moved through northeast Wisconsin. Several severe thunderstorms formed during the afternoon, one of which produced a tornado in the vicinity of a lake breeze front in Manitowoc county. Strong winds from these storms downed trees and power lines in Valders (Manitowoc co.), near Wild Rose (Waushara co.), and from Athelstane to Middle Inlet (Marinette co.) and damaged trees at a country club in Luxemburg (Kewaunee co.) and at Whitefish Dunes State Park (Door co.). Tennis ball size hail fell between Reedsville and Whitelaw (Manitowoc co.) and golf ball size hail was reported at Lakewood (Oconto…

4. Jun 27, 2013Hail$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms produced copious amounts of golf ball size to tennis ball size hail in Manitowoc. The hail damaged hundreds of cars and at least 50 homes and businesses.

5. Jul 7, 2020Lightning$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck an apartment complex on Clay Street in Kiel during the early evening hours, causing a fire and extensive structural damage.

6. Jun 12, 2008Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Torrential rain, including 5.10 inches in Valders, caused the Manitowoc River to rise three feet in four hours. Resultant flooding washed out part of State Highway 57 near Kiel and created a large pothole on Clarks Mills Road.

7. May 3, 2018Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rainfall caused rivers, roads and basements to flood. The flooding washed out some roads, mainly in the northwest half of the county.

8. Mar 15, 2019Flood$170,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Runoff from rainfall and snow melt combined with ice jams to cause flooding on rivers, streams and roads in the vicinity of Manitowoc and Two Rivers. Some residents living near the West Twin River had to be evacuated while county emergency crews worked to contain the overflowing Shoto Dam. The runoff also caused flooding of other low-lying and poor drainage areas. Two homes sustained major flood damage, and four homes and one business sustained minor damage. Some roads were also damaged by the flooding and required repairs after the water receded. The Manitowoc River reached major flood stage just west of Manitowoc, reaching a (preliminary) record stage of 13.58 feet. A…

9. May 31, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A series of thunderstorms roared across the area late on May 30 and early on the 31st, causing about $1.8 million dollars in damage and injuring two people. Two tornadoes were also reported.One of the hardest hit areas was in Big Eau Pleine Park, about 8 miles west-southwest of Mosinee (Marathon co.). Thunderstorm winds from a downburst gusted to as high as 85 mph, flattening or damaging trees in a 200 yard wide and 1/2 mile long swath. One person was injured, suffering a broken leg. Several campers and vehicles were also damaged or destroyed. The same thunderstorm produced a brief tornado 4 miles west of Mosinee.In Winnebago county, high winds over 80 mph damaged 25 mobile homes…

10. Jul 16, 1997Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
    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…

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 11, 1936

All-time low

−29°FFeb 10, 1899

Warmest night

83°FJun 29, 1931

Coldest day

−13°FFeb 9, 1899

Wettest day

6.17 inSep 14, 1931

Snowiest day

15.0 in2 times, most recently Jan 30, 1947

Hottest year

2024mean 49.6°F

Coldest year

1917mean 40.9°F

Wettest year

195946.02 in

Driest year

189519.76 in

Snowiest season

85.6 in1922-23

Station Manitowoc (USC00475017), 584 ft elevation, 3.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 23, 2026; 96.6% 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 USC00475017.
• 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.