Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Minnesota
17,598 severe thunderstorm warnings since 1986. An alert counts here when it covered any part of the state, so the counties below add up to more than the state. The archive of severe thunderstorm warnings reaches back to 1986.
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings by county
Each county as a circle sized by its count since 1986. Tap one for its archive.
- Severe Thunderstorm Warnings
- 17,598
- Busiest year
- 2022692 severe thunderstorm warnings
- Average year
- 429over 41 years on file
Over time
By year
Before October 2007 these were issued for whole counties, and a storm crossing three counties was often three warnings; since then one polygon follows the storm. The count changed with the practice, not only with the weather.
By month of the year
Warning verification
How often warnings here had a storm report inside them, and how much warning the reports had.
From 2008 to 2025, 76% of hail, wind and damage reports in Minnesota fell inside a severe thunderstorm warning issued on average 24 minutes before, and 43% of the severe thunderstorm warnings had no report inside them.
Severe thunderstorm warnings by year
| Warnings | With a report | False alarm ratio | Reports | Inside a warning | Mean lead time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 679 | 226 | 67% | 614 | 79% | 25 min |
| 2009 | 187 | 106 | 43% | 231 | 72% | 22 min |
| 2010 | 565 | 308 | 45% | 819 | 68% | 25 min |
| 2011 | 568 | 284 | 50% | 716 | 81% | 27 min |
| 2012 | 609 | 332 | 45% | 760 | 77% | 22 min |
| 2013 | 397 | 251 | 37% | 640 | 77% | 25 min |
| 2014 | 329 | 211 | 36% | 513 | 75% | 22 min |
| 2015 | 340 | 194 | 43% | 593 | 71% | 27 min |
| 2016 | 569 | 329 | 42% | 824 | 76% | 25 min |
| 2017 | 528 | 306 | 42% | 880 | 72% | 22 min |
| 2018 | 492 | 298 | 39% | 725 | 74% | 23 min |
| 2019 | 531 | 306 | 42% | 776 | 79% | 22 min |
| 2020 | 551 | 361 | 34% | 916 | 77% | 24 min |
| 2021 | 329 | 209 | 36% | 593 | 74% | 23 min |
| 2022 | 693 | 478 | 31% | 1,594 | 82% | 24 min |
| 2023 | 369 | 215 | 42% | 588 | 73% | 22 min |
| 2024 | 415 | 267 | 36% | 746 | 76% | 23 min |
| 2025 | 497 | 271 | 45% | 694 | 72% | 23 min |
Years from 2008, the first full year of storm-based warnings. The year still running is on its own page.
Verified by the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow, which matches each storm-based warning with the local storm reports inside its polygon while it was in force, within 15 km of its edge: a tornado warning counts as verified on a tornado report, a severe thunderstorm warning on hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more, or wind damage, a flash flood warning on a flash flood report. The false alarm ratio is the share of warnings with no such report; "inside a warning" is the probability of detection, the share of reports that fell inside one; lead time runs from the warning's issue to each report inside it, counting zero for a report that came first. A warning with no report is not proof nothing happened: reports come from spotters, the public and damage surveys, and are thin where few people live.
By county
Every county with at least one alert. A county page lists each alert that covered it.
- Saint Louis County1,164
- Polk County763
- Itasca County691
- Cass County677
- Otter Tail County650
- Aitkin County638
- Beltrami County600
- Stearns County546
- Becker County525
- Clay County519
- Koochiching County503
- Renville County500
- Pine County494
- Crow Wing County489
- Marshall County489
- Hennepin County487
- Wright County474
- Dakota County468
- Nobles County454
- Norman County449
- Clearwater County430
- Carlton County424
- Sibley County422
- Rock County417
- Kandiyohi County412
- McLeod County406
- Blue Earth County399
- Lake County398
- Meeker County395
- Wilkin County392
- Morrison County382
- Washington County373
- Jackson County372
- Murray County371
- Carver County363
- Hubbard County358
- Fillmore County357
- Scott County357
- Winona County355
- Olmsted County354
47 more counties
- Pipestone County353
- Goodhue County351
- Redwood County351
- Anoka County349
- Lyon County349
- Todd County348
- Roseau County345
- Rice County340
- Chippewa County338
- Nicollet County335
- Yellow Medicine County335
- Sherburne County334
- Swift County329
- Pope County324
- Mahnomen County317
- Lincoln County313
- Brown County312
- Le Sueur County310
- Lake of the Woods County310
- Faribault County308
- Mower County307
- Cottonwood County306
- Pennington County298
- Lac qui Parle County295
- Big Stone County292
- Wabasha County292
- Douglas County289
- Kittson County289
- Mille Lacs County288
- Freeborn County283
- Waseca County283
- Red Lake County281
- Ramsey County277
- Benton County273
- Traverse County271
- Martin County270
- Isanti County260
- Steele County255
- Chisago County250
- Wadena County250
- Dodge County249
- Houston County248
- Grant County237
- Watonwan County227
- Stevens County219
- Kanabec County213
- Cook County187
The latest severe thunderstorm warnings
The most recent on file, newest first.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 11, 9:09 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MPX | Kandiyohi, Pope, Swift | 18 min |
| Sep 11, 8:32 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MPX | Stevens, Swift | 16 min |
| Sep 11, 7:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DLH | Cass | 34 min |
| Sep 11, 7:41 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | MPX | Stevens | 38 min |
| Sep 11, 7:37 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Wadena | 53 min |
| Sep 11, 7:33 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ABR | Big Stone | 27 min |
| Sep 11, 7:22 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DLH | Cass | 53 min |
| Sep 11, 7:19 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ABR | Big Stone | 27 min |
| Sep 11, 7:10 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | DLH | Cass | 35 min |
| Sep 11, 7:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Otter Tail | 55 min |
| Sep 11, 7:05 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ABR | Big Stone, Traverse | 40 min |
| Sep 11, 7:02 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FGF | Otter Tail, Wadena | 58 min |
Nearby
Sources
National Weather Service watches, warnings, advisories and statements from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's VTEC archive, which reconstructs tornado, severe thunderstorm, flash flood and marine warnings back to 1986 from the NWS text archive. Storm Prediction Center watches and mesoscale discussions from SPC's archive through the Mesonet. County centers from the US Census Bureau. Warning verification from the Mesonet's Cow. Rebuilt daily.