Pepin County

Every recorded tornado

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

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Apr 1, 2001Flood, Pepin$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy snow fall during winter remained on the ground through the end of March and then rapidly melted, resulting in river stages close to record levels along Wisconsin's western border. Water began to gush through drainage ditches, streams and into the mainstem rivers during midday April 1. Two to four inches of rain April 7-9 prolonged the high water and also added about one foot to the crest during mid-April. Another two to three inches of rain April 22-23 caused a second crest in late April. Both the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers remained well above flood stage into May (see May 2001 Storm Data). The crest at Stillwater MN on the St. Croix River was the second highest crest,…

2. May 19, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$4.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   10 homes destroyed. 56 homes with major damage. Estimated windspeed. Damage estimate for entire county.

3. Aug 14, 2009Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A team of NWS employees and local law enforcement officials surveyed an area northwest of Arkansaw, Wisconsin that had flood damage. The storm survey determined that from County Road XX, southeast along County Road Z, several mud slides were confirmed along with a washed out roadway along Arkansas Creek. There were also reports of basement flooding in the town of Arkansaw, Wisconsin. Also, a local observer in Pepin County reported several minor mud slides near Durand. Local law enforcement officials in Pepin County also reported several roads washed out in Frankfort Township, south of Arkansaw, Wisconsin.||Highway crews repaired the highway along Arkansas Creek which rose more…

4. Dec 10, 2010Winter Storm, Pepin$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   In rural Pepin County, several area barns had roof damage, or collapsed under the heavy weight of the snowfall. A local dairy farmer lost 60 short-bred heifers and other livestock were injured due to the collapsed roof. Snowfall amounts across the county averaged around 16 inches.

5. Jul 5, 2016Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant straight line wind damage occurred west and northwest of Durand, in the Towns of Waterville and Waubeek. Trees were downed from several miles west of Arkansaw to north-northwest of Durand, near Highway 25. Some of the worst damage was near County Road D and Highway 25. Damage occurred to a roof which came off of a storage shed, as well as damage to Eau Galle Cheese Factory, plus a few campers in Dick's RV lot.

6. Jul 5, 2016Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado was embedded within a broader mesocyclone that was sometimes three miles wide (see separate entry for the wind damage from the mesocyclone). The tornado itself moved east, hitting two farmsteads where barns and sheds were destroyed. The tornado also produced a narrow corridor of uprooted and snapped trees. It dissipated just as it was exiting Pepin County.

7. Jul 5, 2016Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A mesocyclone that was sometimes three miles wide caused widespread wind damage, knocking down trees, destroying sheds and causing other building damage. The downburst wind damage from the mesocyclone was mostly spread across a 1.5 mile wide area, but occasionally reached a width of three miles. There was also a tornado embedded within the mesocyclone (see separate entry for the tornado).

8. Jun 11, 2001Hail$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Vehicles, houses and other structures damaged.

9. Aug 8, 2009Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several gullies washed out, damaging infrastructure.

10. Jun 25, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Barn blown down trapping 57 cows. Garage shifted off foundation. Windows blown out of farmhouse.

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°FJul 14, 1936

All-time low

−45°FJan 30, 1951

Warmest night

83°FAug 17, 1988

Coldest day

−20°FJan 5, 1924

Wettest day

6.30 inSep 16, 1992

Snowiest day

16.5 inMar 15, 2026

Hottest year

2012mean 50.7°F

Coldest year

1917mean 39.2°F

Wettest year

201947.10 in

Driest year

191015.51 in

Snowiest season

95.1 in2018-19

Station Mondovi (USC00475563), 830 ft elevation, 15.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1908 to August 31, 2026; 95.3% 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 USC00475563.
• 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.