Counties with the most tornadoes in Wisconsin

It's been a busy year for tornadoes in the U.S. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as many as 1,155 twisters have touched down across the country since the start of the year, above the average for this time of year.

A single day can drive up tornado counts. March 31, 2023, accounted for 163 tornadoes across the Midwest and South. Tornado activity usually peaks in the spring and early summer, and the pace of tornadoes usually slows around late summer. A smaller-scale second tornado season emerges in the fall, mostly in the Gulf Coast states.

Stacker used data from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information to find the counties in Wisconsin that have experienced the most tornadoes since 2000. While data is available going back to 1950, tornado tracking by the National Weather Service became more robust and accurate in the 1990s. Since counties can vary in size, they are ranked by the number of tornadoes per 100 square miles. Counties that experienced less than five tornadoes are not included.

The counties that encounter the most tornadoes aren't all in the infamous Tornado Alley. When adjusted for county area, the top 10 counties that experienced the most tornadoes since 2000 are from nine different states, all in the Southeast with the exception of Cleveland County, Oklahoma.

Research has shown that Tornado Alley is shifting due to warming temperatures fueled by climate change. In the future, the Southeast could become the region that receives the bulk of the country's tornadoes. It's a concerning trend as the South is more populated than the Great Plains and has a higher concentration of mobile homes than other parts of the country, making the storms potentially deadlier and costlier.

As of August 2023, 75 people have died from tornadoes this year, and over 60% of those deaths occurred in mobile homes.

The best way to stay protected during tornadoes is to have multiple ways of receiving storm updates including social media, radio, television, and sirens, and to immediately seek shelter in a basement or interior room without windows when a tornado watch escalates to a warning.

Read on to see which counties experience the most tornadoes in Wisconsin.

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#49. Jackson County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (0.61 per 100 square miles)
- #1,940 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#48. Marinette County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (0.71 per 100 square miles)
- #1,913 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#47. Portage County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (0.75 per 100 square miles)
- #1,899 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#46. Wood County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (0.76 per 100 square miles)
- #1,894 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#45. Adams County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (0.77 per 100 square miles)
- #1,887 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#44. Price County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (0.80 per 100 square miles)
- #1,876 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#43. Oneida County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (0.81 per 100 square miles)
- #1,871 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#42. Richland County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (0.85 per 100 square miles)
- #1,847 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#41. Chippewa County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (0.89 per 100 square miles)
- #1,831 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#40. Juneau County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (0.91 per 100 square miles)
- #1,817 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#39. Sauk County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (0.96 per 100 square miles)
- #1,797 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#38. Vernon County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (1.01 per 100 square miles)
- #1,771 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#37. Manitowoc County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (1.02 per 100 square miles)
- #1,767 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#36. Dunn County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (1.06 per 100 square miles)
- #1,748 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#35. Clark County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (1.07 per 100 square miles)
- #1,735 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#34. Burnett County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (1.22 per 100 square miles)
- #1,632 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#33. La Crosse County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (1.33 per 100 square miles)
- #1,537 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#32. Monroe County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (1.33 per 100 square miles)
- #1,531 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#31. Lincoln County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (1.48 per 100 square miles)
- #1,432 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#30. Marathon County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 23 (1.49 per 100 square miles)
- #1,425 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#29. Trempealeau County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (1.50 per 100 square miles)
- #1,414 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#28. Barron County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (1.51 per 100 square miles)
- #1,411 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#27. Waupaca County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (1.60 per 100 square miles)
- #1,351 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#26. Grant County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 19 (1.66 per 100 square miles)
- #1,306 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#25. Rock County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (1.67 per 100 square miles)
- #1,296 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#24. Dodge County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (1.71 per 100 square miles)
- #1,269 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#23. Shawano County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (1.79 per 100 square miles)
- #1,212 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#22. St. Croix County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (1.80 per 100 square miles)
- #1,207 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#21. Waushara County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (1.92 per 100 square miles)
- #1,121 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#20. Polk County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 18 (1.97 per 100 square miles)
- #1,084 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#19. Pierce County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (2.09 per 100 square miles)
- #991 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#18. Iowa County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (2.10 per 100 square miles)
- #985 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#17. Marquette County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (2.19 per 100 square miles)
- #935 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#16. Lafayette County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (2.21 per 100 square miles)
- #924 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#15. Columbia County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 17 (2.22 per 100 square miles)
- #913 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#14. Washington County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (2.32 per 100 square miles)
- #846 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#13. Brown County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (2.45 per 100 square miles)
- #748 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#12. Walworth County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (2.52 per 100 square miles)
- #721 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 6

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#11. Waukesha County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (2.55 per 100 square miles)
- #706 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#10. Green County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (2.57 per 100 square miles)
- #695 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#9. Kenosha County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (2.57 per 100 square miles)
- #694 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#8. Racine County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (2.71 per 100 square miles)
- #630 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#7. Dane County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 37 (3.09 per 100 square miles)
- #464 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#6. Calumet County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (3.14 per 100 square miles)
- #443 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#5. Outagamie County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 21 (3.29 per 100 square miles)
- #384 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#4. Fond du Lac County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 26 (3.61 per 100 square miles)
- #302 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#3. Winnebago County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 21 (4.83 per 100 square miles)
- #120 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#2. Jefferson County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 27 (4.85 per 100 square miles)
- #119 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#1. Green Lake County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 18 (5.15 per 100 square miles)
- #94 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0