Storm Record · Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Jefferson, Sauk, Walworth, Waukesha Counties
May 15, 2025: Hail and tornadoes across seven counties
2.5″
Largest hail
72
Strongest gust
8
Tornadoes
85
NWS reports
What the National Weather Service recorded
One of the bigger tornado events for southern WI over the past 10-15 years with 2 EF-2s occurring and 8 tornadoes in total. Juneau and Mayville took the brunt of the two strong tornadoes, while hundreds of large hail reports and several damaging wind reports were received across southern WI. A strong cold front, extending from strong low pressure over eastern North Dakota, combined with very unstable air and strong wind shear to bring widespread severe thunderstorms to the region.
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database · episode 201445
Every report, in the Weather Service's words
Where It Hit
| Location | County | Hazard | Size | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leroy (3.08 WNW) | Dodge | Wind | 72 mph wind | Horicon RAWS site. South to southeast wind gust of 73 mph. |
| Cottage Grove (1.47 NNW) | Dane | Wind | 58 mph wind | Five to eight inch diameter branches snapped off. All blown from south to north. |
| Ixonia (.86 SE) | Jefferson | Hail | 2.5" hail | |
| Seminary Spgs (1.22 SW) | Dane | Hail | 2.25" hail | |
| Big Bend (.51 W) | Waukesha | Hail | 2" hail | |
| East Troy (.69 N) | Walworth | Hail | 2" hail | |
| Alderley | Dodge | Hail | 2" hail | |
| Ashippun (.69 S) | Dodge | Hail | 2" hail | Hail sizes ranging from 0.5 inch to larger than 2 inches in diameter and lasted about 20 minutes. Wind was generally from the west and south with strong gusts. Damage to vinyl siding and windows. |
| Camp Randall Stadium (1.22 NE) | Dane | Hail | 2" hail | |
| Seminary Spgs (1.22 SW) | Dane | Hail | 2" hail | Tree canopy damaged. |
| Black Hawk (.69 N) | Sauk | Hail | 1.75" hail | Photograph of a large hail stone next to a hen egg. |
| Baraboo Bell Arpt (6.83 ENE) | Sauk | Hail | 1.75" hail | |
| Lake Delton (4.18 N) | Sauk | Hail | 1.75" hail | Photograph provided. |
| Oregon (.69 S) | Dane | Hail | 1.75" hail | |
| Oregon (1.23 SW) | Dane | Hail | 1.75" hail | |
| Seminary Spgs (.5 W) | Dane | Hail | 1.75" hail | |
| (msn)truax Fld Madis | Dane | Hail | 1.75" hail | |
| Ixonia Arpt (2.13 NNW) | Jefferson | Hail | 1.75" hail | |
| Lone Rock Airport (2.07 S) | Sauk | Hail | 1.5" hail | |
| Baraboo Bell Arpt (4.96 ENE) | Sauk | Hail | 1.5" hail | |
| Tess Corners (1.67 ENE) | Waukesha | Hail | 1.5" hail | |
| Eagle (.51 W) | Waukesha | Hail | 1.5" hail | Pictures provided. |
| South Beaver Dam (1.47 SSE) | Dodge | Hail | 1.5" hail | |
| Spring Prairie (3.45 N) | Walworth | Hail | 1.5" hail | |
| Beaver Dam Arpt (1 E) | Dodge | Hail | 1.5" hail | |
| Syene (1.71 NW) | Dane | Hail | 1.5" hail | |
| Syene (1.22 NW) | Dane | Hail | 1.5" hail | |
| Madison Truax Airport (1.01 W) | Dane | Hail | 1.5" hail | |
| Oregon (.86 SE) | Dane | Hail | 1.5" hail | |
| Oregon (1.01 W) | Dane | Hail | 1.5" hail | |
| Oregon (.86 NE) | Dane | Hail | 1.5" hail | |
| Downtown Madison | Dane | Hail | 1.5" hail | |
| Monona (.86 SW) | Dane | Hail | 1.5" hail | |
| Madison Morey Arpt (1.66 WSW) | Dane | Hail | 1.5" hail | |
| Madison Truax Airport (1.01 E) | Dane | Hail | 1.5" hail | Photograph included. |
| Dousman | Waukesha | Hail | 1.5" hail | Photograph provided. |
| Mukwonago | Waukesha | Hail | 1.25" hail | |
| East Troy (.69 N) | Walworth | Hail | 1.25" hail | |
| Beaver Dam (.5 W) | Dodge | Hail | 1.25" hail | |
| Lomira (1.38 S) | Dodge | Hail | 1.25" hail | |
| Kekoskee (.5 E) | Dodge | Hail | 1.25" hail | |
| Camp Randall Stadium (1.66 ENE) | Dane | Hail | 1.25" hail | |
| Camp Randall Stadium (.5 E) | Dane | Hail | 1.25" hail | |
| Burke (.86 NE) | Dane | Hail | 1.25" hail | |
| Maple Bluff (.5 E) | Dane | Hail | 1.25" hail | |
| Token Creek (.69 S) | Dane | Hail | 1.25" hail | |
| Lac La Belle (1.47 SSW) | Waukesha | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Phantom Lake | Waukesha | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Muskego Lake (1.23 NW) | Waukesha | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Muskego (.86 NE) | Waukesha | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Spring Green (.5 W) | Sauk | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Tess Corners (1.01 E) | Waukesha | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Portage (1 W) | Columbia | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Little Prairie (1.52 W) | Walworth | Hail | 1" hail | |
| East Troy (.51 W) | Walworth | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Astico (2.61 ENE) | Dodge | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Astico (2.13 NNW) | Dodge | Hail | 1" hail | |
| East Troy (.51 W) | Walworth | Hail | 1" hail | The large hail shredded the leaves off the trees. |
| Beaver Dam Arpt | Dodge | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Beaver Dam Arpt (1 E) | Dodge | Hail | 1" hail | |
| North Lowell (2.51 W) | Dodge | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Theresa (.69 S) | Dodge | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Theresa (.69 S) | Dodge | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Burnett (3.49 N) | Dodge | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Astico (2.13 NNW) | Dodge | Hail | 1" hail | Quarter sized hail covering the ground. |
| Oregon (1.23 SW) | Dane | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Downtown Madison (1.22 SW) | Dane | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Madison Morey Arpt (2.05 SW) | Dane | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Mc Farland (.86 NE) | Dane | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Ashton Corners (.69 N) | Dane | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Mc Farland (.51 W) | Dane | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Sun Prairie (1.51 W) | Dane | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Waunakee (2.05 NW) | Dane | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Lapham Peak State Park (1.22 SE) | Waukesha | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Nashotah (.5 W) | Waukesha | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Utica (.51 W) | Waukesha | Hail | 1" hail | |
| Syene (1.67 WNW) | Dane | Hail | 0.88" hail | |
| Horicon (2.68 NE) | Dodge | Tornado | EF2 | Tornado began southwest of Mayville just west of Highway 28 which was also captured on video as a potential multi-vortex tornado. Some of the more intense damage occurred shortly after the tornado developed and crossed County Rd TW on into southwest Mayville in an industrial area. A farmhouse on Cty RW lost a portion of its roof and some farm sheds. The tornado then moved through the industrial area in southwest Mayville. The Mayville Engineering Company was hit on its northwest corner. The winds from the tornado breached a large garage door on the west side which then pushed the large north end wall down. The tornado then went through the Gleason Reel Corporation and destroyed the southern portion of the building. It then went through a neighborhood near the St. John/Graceland cemetary before crossing Main St/Rock River. The tornado then went through the east side of Mayville near the Mayville Golf Course. It then continued to the northeast through mainly rural areas before ending NW of Theresa. |
| Theresa (1.39 NNE) | Dodge | Tornado | EF1 | Damage began northeast of the roundabout for Highway 28 and 175 which is separate from the Mayville tornado. Damage was mainly to trees along this path that crossed Interstate 41. |
| Brownsville (.73 N) | Dodge | Tornado | EF1 | Tornado started southwest of Lomira and north of County Rd AH. While briefly on the ground, it destroyed a barn west of Highway 67. |
| La Rue (2.27 W) | Sauk | Tornado | EF0 | Short damage path through a forested section along Stone Church Drive. |
| Portage (3.4 SW) | Columbia | Tornado | EFU | No damage was found due to the tornado occurring in the Baraboo River Waterfowl Protection area south of Portage. Video from Portage Fire Department and reports from multiple storm chasers and spotters show a brief tornado occurring south of Portage. |
| Reeseville (2.46 NW) | Dodge | Tornado | EF1 | Track started southwest of Lowell and ended south of Juneau. Damage was mainly to about 30 trees, but there was barn damage along Fairwood Rd near the onset of the tornado and some roofing panels lofted from the Animix facility south of Juneau near the end of the tornado path. |
| North Lowell (.51 NNE) | Dodge | Tornado | EF2 | Extensive damage path from this tornado which started southwest of Juneau, went through the north side of downtown Juneau, to the south of Horicon, hitting the Horicon Hills Golf Club, before ending east of Horicon along Highway 33. The most intense damage was in the city of Juneau where about 10 structures hit EF-2 levels of damage. The one minor injury from this tornado occurred in downtown Juneau where a man was sleeping in his bedroom when the roof blew off and a tree fell into the house. The Clearview facility had windows blown out and one housing building lost it's roof. Another residential building, which looked like a motel, lost a long section of its roof, but was poorly attached to the frame of the building. An empty silo was buckled on the east end of Home Rd with one cow having a two by four impaled into its back. At the Horicon Hill Golf Club, 165 trees were either uprooted or damaged extensively. Numerous golf carts were tipped or displaced and the main club house sustained extensive roof damage. |
| Dodge Co Arpt (.2 NW) | Dodge | Tornado | EF1 | Tornado began on the north end of the Dodge County Airport, damaging 5 airport hangars and one airplane. The tornado continued east and went through the far south side of Horicon near River Bend Park, causing mainly tree damage along the rest of its path along with some minor barn and housing damage. |
Service areas this storm touched