Southern Wisconsin Severe Storms and Flooding April 2026

This is an active Response with Christ in Action Redeploying to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. See below for full details.

Multiple rounds of severe thunderstorms affected Wisconsin from April 13–17, 2026, with the most concentrated impacts across southern and central Wisconsin, including the Milwaukee metro, Waukesha County, Walworth County, Rock County, Dane County, Vernon County, Marathon County, and surrounding areas.

NWS Milwaukee documented four significant rounds of severe weather, including widespread damaging straight-line winds, destructive hail, flash flooding, river flooding, and at least 16 tornadoes (up to EF3 ratings) in southern Wisconsin during the week, while NWS La Crosse and NWS Green Bay documented additional significant tornadoes elsewhere in the state.

Milwaukee experienced substantial flash flooding on April 15, with major highways including WI-175 near American Family Field and I-43 on the north side shut down due to inundation, while Janesville saw severe flash flooding and numerous water rescues on April 17. A later April 27 wake-low wind event brought a 77 mph gust at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport, downed trees and power lines, and caused widespread outages across the Milwaukee area.

• April 13–14 — Confirmed EF0 tornado south of Beaver Dam, with damaging straight-line winds and multiple tornado warnings as storms moved east toward Lake Michigan.
• April 14 — High-impact severe storms across southern Wisconsin, including softball-size hail near the Madison area, damaging winds, flash flooding, and six tornadoes across the southern Wisconsin / Milwaukee forecast area.
• April 14 — Confirmed EF2 tornado near Sussex / Lisbon in Waukesha County, one of the most significant Milwaukee-area tornado impacts.
• April 14 — Confirmed EF3 tornado near Union Center in western/southwestern Wisconsin, with hail up to 3.5 inches and widespread hail damage around Westby, Cashton, and Vernon County.
• April 15 — Additional storms dropped 1–3 inches of rain over south-central and southeastern Wisconsin, causing Milwaukee-area flooding, including closures on WI-175 near American Family Field and I-43 on Milwaukee’s north side.
• April 15 — One storm-related fatality reported in Waukesha, where a man died after a likely lightning strike.
• April 17 — Statewide severe-weather outbreak across central, north-central, and southern Wisconsin, including supercells, damaging winds, large hail, tornadoes, and additional flooding.
• April 17 — Confirmed EF3 tornado near Ringle in Marathon County, with estimated 145 mph winds, a 13.53-mile path, and damage to dozens of homes.
• April 17 — Serious flash flooding in the Janesville / Rock County area, including numerous water rescues after vehicles were stranded in rapidly rising floodwaters.
• April 17 — NWS Milwaukee confirmed eight additional tornadoes in southern Wisconsin: four EF1s and four EF0s, from Rock County east into Racine, Kenosha, and southern Milwaukee counties.