For some, this could be one of the hottest Fourth of July’s on record. For others, it’s shaping up to be a stormy one.

What You Need To Know

  • The hottest year was 2012 for many of us

  • In other years, we’ve stalled out in the 60s

  • You might be surprised by the number of tornadoes

Independence Day. It’s really the one true holiday in our state where you know you can gather outside and do something. That is, unless the weather gets a little extreme.

While thunderstorms are affecting some areas, the bigger story might be the heat. Many areas will top out in the 90s today, with the humidity making it feel even worse. So would that mean it’s the hottest ever? Not quite.

Here’s a look at the hottest Independence Days on record for the major reporting sites in our state:

You might recall that 2012 was a very hot year overall, where many record highs were set.

Now, if we limit things to just the last ten years, then yes, this is one of the hottest in recent memory.

But what about the other extreme? You know it can get cool around here, even in July. Check this out: some spots had Independence Day celebrations where highs never made it out of the 50s.

In terms of rain, we’ve had some soakers before. These are the wettest Fourth of July’s on the books:

If you are curious about severe weather, it’s a little harder to track the finer details. But we can look through the history books to find tornadoes. Would you believe Wisconsin has seen 11 tornadoes all-time with the most recent one happening in 2019?

Once the final numbers are in from today, it would not be surprising to see July 4, 2023 end up as one of the hottest–and perhaps wettest–on record for some areas. Fingers crossed we don’t have any tornadoes to deal with.

Stay safe and Happy Independence Day.

Our team of meteorologists dives deep into the science of weather and breaks down timely weather data and information. To view more weather and climate stories, check out our weather blogs section.