Minnesota, 1998

Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, March 29, 1998

March 29, 1998 · NWS MPX · 31 events in 15 counties and zones

20 hail, 11 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
2
Injuries
18
Property damage
$205 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
31

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

The radar

The Minneapolis radar (KMPX), 42 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:45 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

20 hail, 11 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Sibley

When
March 29, 2:45 PM CST
Where
Sibley County, 5 mi NE of Arlington
Measured
1.5 in hail
Coordinates
44.650, -94.020

Hail, Freeborn

When
March 29, 2:52 PM CST
Where
Freeborn County, 1 mi W of Albert Lea
Measured
1.25 in hail
Coordinates
43.650, -93.400

Hail, Hennepin

When
March 29, 3:05 PM CST
Where
Hennepin County, Eden Prairie
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
44.850, -93.480

Hail, Freeborn

When
March 29, 3:10 PM CST
Where
Freeborn County, 1 mi N of Hartland
Measured
0.88 in hail
Coordinates
43.820, -93.480

Hail, Hennepin

When
March 29, 3:15 PM CST
Where
Hennepin County, Edina
Measured
0.88 in hail
Coordinates
44.900, -93.350

Hail, Dakota

When
March 29, 3:18 PM CST
Where
Dakota County, 20 mi S of Burnsville
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
44.520, -93.320

Hail, Hennepin

When
March 29, 3:20 PM CST
Where
Hennepin County, St Anthony
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
45.050, -93.220

Hail, Wright

When
March 29, 3:25 PM CST
Where
Wright County, Monticello
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
45.300, -93.820

Hail, Faribault

When
March 29, 3:30 PM CST
Where
Faribault County, 2 mi N of Bricelyn
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
43.600, -93.820

Hail, Steele

When
March 29, 3:30 PM CST
Where
Steele County, 10 mi S of Owatonna
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
43.930, -93.220

Hail, Freeborn

When
March 29, 3:35 PM CST
Where
Freeborn County, 3 mi NW of Albert Lea
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
43.680, -93.430

Hail, Washington

When
March 29, 3:35 PM CST
Where
Washington County, 7 mi N of Stillwater
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
45.170, -92.830

Hail, Anoka

When
March 29, 4:23 PM CST
Where
Anoka County, Fridley
Measured
1.25 in hail
Coordinates
45.080, -93.250

Tornado, Watonwan

When
March 29, 4:28 PM CST
Where
Watonwan County, Darfur to 3 mi NNW of Darfur
Rating
F4
Path length
0.5 mi
Path width
100 yd
Coordinates
44.080, -94.850

Tornado moving through southern Brown county brushed extreme northwest Watonwan county. See Brown county narrative.

Hail, Brown

When
March 29, 4:30 PM CST
Where
Brown County, 3 mi E of Springfield
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
44.250, -94.900

Hail, Brown

When
March 29, 4:30 PM CST
Where
Brown County, 7 mi SW of Leavenworth
Measured
1.25 in hail
Coordinates
44.150, -94.900

Tornado, Brown

When
March 29, 4:30 PM CST to 5:05 PM CST
Where
Brown County, Comfrey to Searles
Rating
F4
Path length
25 mi
Path width
2,200 yd
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
16 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$45 million
Coordinates
44.120, -94.900

Tornado began 7 miles east of Avoca in Murray county, continued through Cottonwood, Brown, extreme Northwest Watonwan, Northwest Blue Earth, and finally lifted off 4 miles east of Courtland in Nicollet county. Total storm track was 67 miles. The tornado ripped through the village of Comfrey destroying a grain elevator and damaging 75% of the town. Much of downtown Comfrey destroyed including the town hall. School heavily damaged. 100 people made homeless. 50 homes destroyed. 130 farmsteads damaged or destroyed in Brown county. 500 dairy cows killed. One man critically injured in collapse of farmstead northwest of the town of Hanska. He died the next day. 35 buildings destroyed or damaged in far Northwest Blue Earth county. Damage estimate estimated. Property damage to extreme northwest Blue Earth county across Cambria township estimated at 2 million. Property damage to extreme northwest Watonwan county estimated at 245 thousand.

Hail, Nicollet

When
March 29, 5:05 PM CST
Where
Nicollet County, Courtland
Measured
4.5 in hail
Coordinates
44.270, -94.350

Tornado, Blue Earth

When
March 29, 5:05 PM CST to 5:07 PM CST
Where
Blue Earth County, Cambria to 2 mi NW of Cambria
Rating
F4
Path length
2 mi
Path width
2,200 yd
Coordinates
44.230, -94.350

See Brown county discussion.

Tornado, Nicollet

When
March 29, 5:07 PM CST to 5:15 PM CST
Where
Nicollet County, Courtland to 1 mi E of Courtland
Rating
F4
Path length
4 mi
Path width
2,200 yd
Coordinates
44.250, -94.330

See narrative for Brown county.

Tornado, Nicollet

When
March 29, 5:18 PM CST to 5:35 PM CST
Where
Nicollet County, Nicollet to 2 mi of St Peter
Rating
F3
Path length
12 mi
Path width
2,200 yd
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$120 million
Coordinates
44.280, -94.170

Tornado made a direct hit on the city of St. Peter and Gustavius Adolphus College. All major buildings on campus suffered varying degrees of damage. The spire on Christ Chapel snapped in half. 70% of the windows on campus were broken. 500 homes were destroyed in St. Peter, 1,700 were damaged. Over 1,000 trees uprooted. One person killed just outside St. Peter when the tornado struck a vehicle. St. Peter Catholic Church destroyed. Hospital severely damaged. Roof ripped off library. 25% of books lost. Debris from St. Peter found 50 miles away in southern suburbs of the Twin Cities. 60 rural homes and farms damaged or destroyed from Courtland to St. Peter. Rural damage estimated at 6.5 million.

Hail, Nicollet

When
March 29, 5:31 PM CST
Where
Nicollet County, 7 mi SW of St Peter
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
44.270, -94.050

Tornado, Le Sueur

When
March 29, 5:35 PM CST to 5:45 PM CST
Where
Le Sueur County, Ottawa to 4 mi W of Le Center
Rating
F3
Path length
6 mi
Path width
2,200 yd
Coordinates
44.330, -93.950

See narrative for Nicollet county.

Tornado, Le Sueur

When
March 29, 5:48 PM CST to 6:04 PM CST
Where
Le Sueur County, Cleveland to 2 mi E of Montgomery
Rating
F2
Path length
17 mi
Path width
1,760 yd
Injuries
2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$20 million
Coordinates
44.370, -93.830

Tornado tracked through Le Center and adjoining rural areas. Most of the businesses in the southern part of town were damaged. Buildings destroyed at county fairgrounds. 15 mobiles homes at a trailer park destroyed, another 26 suffering major damage. Over 100 farm buildings destroyed.

Tornado, Rice

When
March 29, 6:09 PM CST to 6:13 PM CST
Where
Rice County, 3 mi SW of Lonsdale
Rating
F1
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
200 yd
Coordinates
44.430, -93.480

Tornado, Rice

When
March 29, 6:16 PM CST to 6:24 PM CST
Where
Rice County, Lonsdale
Rating
F2
Path length
5 mi
Path width
440 yd
Property damage
$20 million
Coordinates
44.470, -93.430

Four homes and 6 businesses severely damaged. Street department building damaged. 20 farms damaged or destroyed.

Tornado, Dakota

When
March 29, 6:25 PM CST to 6:33 PM CST
Where
Dakota County, Castle Rock to 5 mi W of Castle Rock
Rating
F2
Path length
3 mi
Path width
440 yd
Coordinates
44.550, -93.250

Hail, Le Sueur

When
March 29, 6:30 PM CST
Where
Le Sueur County, Elysian
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
44.200, -93.680

Hail, Dakota

When
March 29, 6:38 PM CST
Where
Dakota County, Farmington
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
44.630, -93.150

Tornado, Dakota

When
March 29, 6:43 PM CST to 6:48 PM CST
Where
Dakota County, Hastings to 6 mi SW of Hastings
Rating
F0
Path length
1 mi
Path width
100 yd
Coordinates
44.680, -92.930

Hail, Dakota

When
March 29, 6:43 PM CST
Where
Dakota County, Inver Grove Heights
Measured
2 in hail
Coordinates
44.850, -93.030

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Tornado, Brown1998-03-3085MalePermanent HomeDirect
Tornado, Nicollet1998-03-296MaleVehicle/Towed TrailerDirect

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Minnesota in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Minnesota, 1998Warnings in Minnesota, March 1998

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5638654, 5638655, 5638656, 5638657, 5638658, 5638659, 5638660, 5638661, 5638662, 5638663, 5638664, 5638665, 5638666, 5638771, 5638667, 5638668, 5638760, 5638669, 5638770, 5638768, 5638761, 5638670, 5638769, 5638762, 5638763, 5638764, 5638765, 5638758, 5638759, 5638766, 5638767.