Washburn County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Jul 4, 2025Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A video was received County Highway B partially washed out leaving only a thin layer of pavement on one half of the road where it passed over a culvert. Other washouts and closures were reported nearby in multiple locations by the Shell Lake Fire Department.

2. Jul 4, 2025Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   County Highway B was completely washout out just east of Old Highway B. This damage was repaired with the road reopened on July 15th.

3. Jul 4, 2025Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hector Dam Road was was completely washed out at one of the culverts for the Dahlstrom Branch of the Yellow River. Work did not start to replace the road until July 14 with work completed on the 17th.

4. Jul 4, 2025Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The intersection of Cadle Road and Sunset Drive was washed out by the North Fork of the Clam River. Work to repair the washed out culvert was not completed until after July 21st.

5. Apr 12, 2023Flood$30,000
   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 12th with water overtopping low spots leading to washouts, failed culverts and numerous closed roads. Temperatures cooled during the middle of the month along with a heavy rain/snow event the 16th into the 17th. This allowed the runoff to slow and water levels to drop. Multiple communities issued disaster declarations due to the extent of washed out roads with the worst of the flooding abating by the 20th.

6. Jul 19, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$30,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The intense winds brought down hundreds of trees. A barn was destroyed, a new recreational vehicle camper was destroyed, a home had major roof damage and a beef cow was killed.

7. Apr 12, 2022Flood$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A spring storm coupled with frost leaving the ground led to excessive runoff that resulted in damage to two culverts. Pictures show culverts being pushed upward. Protection on the road was necessary due to sinkholes that opened up above the culverts. Both culverts will need replacing. Each culvert is 84 inches by 70 feet with preliminary estimated costs of $20,000 to replace culverts and make repairs to the road along with time and equipment. The Town of Baronett requested an emergency declaration to help cover the costs.

8. Aug 27, 2024Flash Flood$20,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several gravel roads in the town of Casey were washed out by the heavy rainfall.

9. Jul 27, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$15,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A large pine tree was blown down on a cabin, causing a large hole in the roof.

10. Jul 14, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$10,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Many trees were blown down across the county, especially in the Trego area and north side of Spooner.

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°F3 times, most recently Jul 13, 1936

All-time low

−46°F2 times, most recently Feb 16, 1936

Warmest night

81°FJul 2, 1921

Coldest day

−19°FJan 24, 1904

Wettest day

5.51 inMay 31, 1993

Snowiest day

20.0 inFeb 8, 1900

Hottest year

1931mean 48.0°F

Coldest year

1917mean 37.9°F

Wettest year

199145.28 in

Driest year

191013.36 in

Snowiest season

96.0 in2022-23

Station Spooner Ag Rsch Station (USC00478027), 1,100 ft elevation, 2.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1894 to October 22, 2026; 99.7% 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 USC00478027.
• 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.