What Wisconsin counties get the most tornado warnings? See the data

As Wisconsin residents deal with weather warnings and tornado sirens to start the week, some will have more experience with the routine than others.

From 2005 to 2025, the National Weather Service in Wisconsin issued 1,698 tornado warnings across the state, according to the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.

Dane County leads the way with 80 tornado warnings issued in the 20 years between 2005 and 2025.

Florence County, near the Upper Michigan border, had the fewest with only one tornado warning issued in that time. The National Weather Service has only recorded three tornadoes in Florence County since 2005.

Dane County, meanwhile, observed 21 tornadoes in those same two decades, the strongest being an EF-3 tornado in 2005.

What Wisconsin counties have the most tornado warnings? 

Here’s the top five Wisconsin counties with the most tornado warnings from 2005 to 2025.

1. Dane, 80 warnings
2. Columbia, 68 warnings
3. Rock, 60 warnings
4. Sauk, 47 warnings
5. Dodge and Jefferson, 46 warnings

It’s no coincidence each of the highest-warned counties are in the same southern Wisconsin region.

The plains basin of southern Wisconsin is a hot bed for tornado activity because flat lands are most susceptible to changes from the Rocky Mountain Range and the Gulf of Mexico airways.

What Wisconsin counties have the fewest tornado warnings? 

Here’s the bottom five Wisconsin counties for tornado warnings from 2005 to 2025.

1. Florence, one warning
2. Vilas, two warnings
3. Kewaunee, three warnings
4. Door, four warnings
5. Ozaukee, five warnings

The least-alerted counties are more spread out than the most-warned but share some similar characteristics. Ozaukee, Kewaunee and Door counties all border Lake Michigan, which contributes its own wind systems to shoreline weather.

Florence and Vilas counties are both in Wisconsin’s northern region and less impacted by wind because of the bumpier Northern Highlands that mitigate heavier winds.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What Wisconsin counties get the most tornado warnings? See the data

Reporting by Caden Perry, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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