Storm Records: Minnesota
Every storm the National Weather Service has filed in Minnesota: its floods, heat, cold, winter storms, hail, wind, lightning and tornadoes, year by year and county by county, each episode with its narrative.
The worst in Minnesota on the map
The deadliest and costliest episodes on record here, colored by kind of event.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 56,536
- Deaths
- 298
- Injuries
- 2,843
- Damage
- $6.5 billion
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.
Every year
Tap a year for every episode in it.
Deaths each year
By kind of event
| Kind of event | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 15,756 | 0 | 30 | $1.1 billion |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 13,697 | 22 | 158 | $1.0 billion |
| Winter Storm | 5,122 | 10 | 43 | $104 million |
| Extreme Cold/Wind Chill | 2,915 | 14 | 4 | $55,000 |
| Heavy Snow | 2,803 | 9 | 14 | $1.3 million |
| Tornado | 2,433 | 101 | 1,987 | $2.0 billion |
| Blizzard | 2,191 | 10 | 33 | $29 million |
| Winter Weather | 1,684 | 34 | 116 | $3.2 million |
| Drought | 1,446 | 0 | 0 | $109 million |
| High Wind | 1,358 | 1 | 7 | $15 million |
| Flash Flood | 1,349 | 15 | 37 | $374 million |
| Flood | 1,324 | 8 | 3 | $1.6 billion |
| Cold/Wind Chill | 1,099 | 21 | 15 | $505,000 |
| Funnel Cloud | 698 | 0 | 0 | |
| Heavy Rain | 668 | 4 | 3 | $383,000 |
| Excessive Heat | 407 | 5 | 244 | $1.2 million |
| Heat | 400 | 14 | 14 | |
| Ice Storm | 335 | 0 | 3 | $41 million |
| Lightning | 288 | 11 | 82 | $24 million |
| Frost/Freeze | 224 | 0 | 0 | $460,000 |
| Strong Wind | 182 | 7 | 20 | $1.2 million |
| Dense Fog | 86 | 5 | 16 | $199,000 |
| Wildfire | 27 | 0 | 6 | $27 million |
| Lake-Effect Snow | 18 | 0 | 0 | |
| Rip Current | 8 | 2 | 6 | |
| Lakeshore Flood | 6 | 0 | 0 | $22 million |
| Sleet | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| High Surf | 3 | 3 | 0 | $200,000 |
| Freezing Fog | 2 | 2 | 2 | $20,000 |
| Debris Flow | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Waterspout | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Coastal Flood | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dust Storm | 1 | 0 | 0 |
The deadliest
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, August 6, 1969
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, April 30, 1967
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, May 6, 1965
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, June 13, 1968
- Tornadoes in Minnesota, May 10, 1953
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Minnesota, August 18 to 21, 2007A warm front lifting northward into Iowa triggered round after round of thunderstorms with excessive rainfall across southeast Minnesota during the evening and overnight hours of August 18-19. This was after rain had fallen earlier in the day.
- Tornado in Minnesota, July 20, 1951
- Heat in Minnesota, August 4 to 8, 2001An extensive heat wave persisted for five days and resulted in five fatalities in Minneapolis and its suburbs. All deaths occurred in Hennepin County and were determined by the county medical examiner.
- Heat in Minnesota, August 7 to 8, 2001Five people died in a two-day heat wave, during which high temperatures of 91 degrees and heat indexes of 101 were reached. The victims, all in the Duluth area, included 4 males and 1 female, ranging in age from 47 to 73.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, July 5, 1978
- Flooding in Minnesota, April 1 to 30, 2001Heavy snowfall during winter remained on the ground through the end of March and then rapidly melted, resulting in river stages close to record levels. Water began to gush through drainage ditches, streams and into the mainstem rivers during midday April 1.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Minnesota, December 10 to 11, 2010A storm system began to organize across the Upper Midwest Friday afternoon, and intensified late Friday night and into Saturday as it moved across northern Iowa.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Minnesota, June 26 to 27, 1998Trees down. Damage to sheds and barns.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Minnesota, June 11 to 12, 2008A warm frontal boundary across from eastern North Dakota to central Minnesota was one of the main culprits for severe weather on this date.
- Excessive Heat in Minnesota, July 3 to 6, 2012A large ridge of high pressure built across the Upper Midwest during the first week of July. This resulted in a combination of high humidity levels and temperatures, leading to three heat-related deaths, all in Hennepin County.
- Strong Wind in Minnesota, December 9, 2023Strong winds developed as low pressure deepened and moved across Minnesota toward the Great Lakes.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, March 29, 1998Tornado moving through southern Brown county brushed extreme northwest Watonwan county. See Brown county narrative.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, April 26, 1984
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, May 25, 2008A cold front was the catalyst for numerous reports of severe weather on this date.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, August 31, 1975
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, June 17, 2010Conditions were ripe by the afternoon of the 17th for a major severe weather outbreak. A surface low had moved into east central North Dakota with an occluded front extending to the southeast.
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, August 9, 1993Several large trees were blown down by strong winds.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, May 5 to 6, 2012Two waves of thunderstorms moved across southern and central Minnesota over a span of 12 to 18 hours and produced up to 2 to 5 inches of rainfall across portions of the area. The first complex moved across southern Minnesota and produced large hail near New Ulm.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Minnesota, July 14, 2009A strong low pressure system pushed across south central Canada on Tuesday (July 14th), and its trough of low pressure developed strong thunderstorms over the southern Red River Valley and West Central Minnesota.
- Winter Weather in Minnesota, February 12 to 13, 2020Two people were killed and two more were injured in a single vehicle accident on Interstate 90 near Dexter (Mower County) on February 13th.
The costliest
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, May 15, 1998
- Flood in Minnesota, April 17 to 23, 1997
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Minnesota, September 21, 2005
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, April 30, 1967
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, May 6, 1965
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, May 30, 1998
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, March 29, 1998
- Flooding in Minnesota, April 1 to 30, 2001
- Flood in Minnesota, June 10 to 25, 2002
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Minnesota, August 18 to 21, 2007
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, May 22, 2011
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, August 24, 2006
- Flooding in Minnesota, June 1 to 30, 2019
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, June 16, 1992
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, June 11, 2001
- Winter Storm in Minnesota, April 9 to 11, 2013
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, April 26, 1984
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, June 14, 1981
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, July 18, 1994
- Hail in Minnesota, August 23, 1998
- Drought in Minnesota, October 1 to 31, 2023
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Minnesota, June 17 to 30, 2012
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Minnesota, September 22 to 26, 2010
- Flood in Minnesota, June 9 to 30, 2002
- Tornadoes and Hail in Minnesota, May 1, 2001
Counties
Every storm event filed in each county, including the zone-filed ones that covered it.
- Aitkin County687
- Anoka County694
- Becker County951
- Beltrami County1,020
- Benton County349
- Big Stone County481
- Blue Earth County661
- Brown County519
- Carlton County570
- Carver County659
- Cass County913
- Chippewa County455
- Chisago County364
- Clay County823
- Clearwater County633
- Cook County559
- Cottonwood County707
- Crow Wing County789
- Dakota County844
- Dodge County573
- Douglas County576
- Faribault County499
- Fillmore County688
- Freeborn County616
- Goodhue County583
- Grant County537
- Hennepin County1,442
- Houston County422
- Hubbard County575
- Isanti County362
- Itasca County975
- Jackson County696
- Kanabec County314
- Kandiyohi County666
- Kittson County687
- Koochiching County466
- Lac qui Parle County505
- Lake County618
- Lake of the Woods County412
- Le Sueur County440
- Lincoln County590
- Lyon County853
- Mahnomen County451
- Marshall County954
- Martin County524
- McLeod County751
- Meeker County532
- Mille Lacs County400
- Morrison County528
- Mower County732
- Murray County639
- Nicollet County462
- Nobles County812
- Norman County640
- Olmsted County1,083
- Otter Tail County1,515
- Pennington County430
- Pine County534
- Pipestone County673
- Polk County1,469
- Pope County491
- Ramsey County629
- Red Lake County441
- Redwood County582
- Renville County639
- Rice County571
- Rock County701
- Roseau County686
- Saint Louis County2,311
- Scott County673
- Sherburne County503
- Sibley County508
- Stearns County1,055
- Steele County420
- Stevens County453
- Swift County485
- Todd County451
- Traverse County415
- Wabasha County600
- Wadena County529
- Waseca County492
- Washington County593
- Watonwan County401
- Wilkin County649
- Winona County762
- Wright County846
- Yellow Medicine County446
Counties and zones as filed
The places filed most often, as the offices named them.
| County or zone | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | 1,352 | 6 | 69 | $62 million |
| Hennepin | 1,252 | 16 | 323 | $1.0 billion |
| Otter Tail | 1,056 | 3 | 42 | $32 million |
| Polk | 915 | 4 | 24 | $13 million |
| Stearns | 867 | 5 | 81 | $70 million |
| Olmsted | 841 | 2 | 48 | $118 million |
| Wright | 685 | 0 | 14 | $86 million |
| Dakota | 662 | 2 | 38 | $341 million |
| Itasca | 628 | 2 | 3 | $371,000 |
| Crow Wing | 619 | 0 | 21 | $17 million |
| Beltrami | 616 | 2 | 0 | $20 million |
| Winona | 579 | 6 | 8 | $67 million |
| McLeod | 572 | 0 | 16 | $11 million |
| Cass | 567 | 14 | 79 | $11 million |
| Anoka | 539 | 4 | 216 | $178 million |
| Clay | 516 | 1 | 5 | $21 million |
| Mower | 505 | 0 | 14 | $58 million |
| Becker | 504 | 0 | 5 | $7.3 million |
| Lyon | 498 | 10 | 171 | $42 million |
| Scott | 495 | 0 | 1 | $211 million |
| Carver | 480 | 3 | 191 | $125 million |
| Kandiyohi | 475 | 1 | 8 | $33 million |
| Fillmore | 474 | 1 | 23 | $79 million |
| Ramsey | 467 | 5 | 181 | $264 million |
| Blue Earth | 466 | 2 | 12 | $39 million |
| Nobles | 460 | 1 | 2 | $61 million |
| Roseau | 453 | 0 | 2 | $37 million |
| Marshall | 451 | 0 | 4 | $4.8 million |
| Freeborn | 445 | 18 | 99 | $154 million |
| Renville | 428 | 1 | 6 | $34 million |
| Wabasha | 421 | 0 | 0 | $40 million |
| Washington | 420 | 3 | 33 | $74 million |
| Goodhue | 412 | 4 | 5 | $21 million |
| Rice | 406 | 0 | 4 | $102 million |
| Kittson | 390 | 0 | 9 | $12 million |
| Douglas | 381 | 1 | 13 | $5.7 million |
| Aitkin | 380 | 3 | 7 | $4.2 million |
| Morrison | 380 | 1 | 26 | $17 million |
| Redwood | 378 | 2 | 4 | $15 million |
| Meeker | 376 | 0 | 8 | $18 million |
| Pine | 376 | 1 | 3 | $1.1 million |
| Wilkin | 367 | 0 | 7 | $4.2 million |
| Cottonwood | 364 | 0 | 7 | $70 million |
| Hubbard | 361 | 0 | 5 | $12 million |
| Dodge | 360 | 0 | 1 | $19 million |
| Rock | 359 | 0 | 7 | $18 million |
| Jackson | 355 | 0 | 4 | $29 million |
| Sherburne | 355 | 1 | 13 | $34 million |
| Lyon zone | 355 | 1 | 9 | $36 million |
| Nobles zone | 352 | 5 | 17 | $37 million |
| Norman | 345 | 3 | 35 | $34 million |
| Rock zone | 342 | 5 | 3 | $18 million |
| Cottonwood zone | 342 | 1 | 8 | $17 million |
| Jackson zone | 341 | 1 | 8 | $23 million |
| Murray zone | 341 | 2 | 2 | $26 million |
| Martin | 337 | 0 | 0 | $5.1 million |
| Pipestone zone | 337 | 1 | 0 | $27 million |
| Pipestone | 336 | 0 | 0 | $30 million |
| Lincoln zone | 336 | 0 | 3 | $17 million |
| Wadena | 331 | 0 | 30 | $11 million |
| Sibley | 322 | 2 | 77 | $59 million |
| Faribault | 319 | 2 | 8 | $14 million |
| West Polk zone | 319 | 1 | 0 | $609 million |
| Brown | 318 | 1 | 25 | $64 million |
| Waseca | 314 | 6 | 25 | $85 million |
| Grant | 310 | 0 | 1 | $11 million |
| Pope | 310 | 0 | 15 | $4.8 million |
| Clay zone | 307 | 1 | 0 | $47 million |
| Murray | 298 | 1 | 41 | $84 million |
| Kittson zone | 297 | 0 | 1 | $13 million |
| Southern St. Louis / Carlton zone | 296 | 19 | 10 | $39 million |
| Norman zone | 295 | 0 | 3 | $88 million |
| Lac Qui Parle | 293 | 0 | 1 | $4.7 million |
| Todd | 289 | 0 | 1 | $2.2 million |
| West Marshall zone | 288 | 0 | 0 | $18 million |
| Wilkin zone | 282 | 0 | 0 | $45 million |
| Swift | 278 | 0 | 8 | $17 million |
| Carlton | 274 | 0 | 2 | $42 million |
| Koochiching | 271 | 2 | 5 | $5.8 million |
| Nicollet | 270 | 2 | 10 | $141 million |
| Le Sueur | 267 | 1 | 58 | $72 million |
| Stevens | 263 | 0 | 0 | $23 million |
| Houston | 259 | 2 | 34 | $78 million |
| Mille Lacs | 255 | 1 | 5 | $1.8 million |
| Big Stone | 254 | 0 | 0 | $2.0 million |
| Lincoln | 253 | 0 | 1 | $44 million |
| Central St. Louis zone | 251 | 14 | 31 | $27 million |
| West Otter Tail zone | 251 | 0 | 0 | $1.6 million |
| Clearwater | 247 | 0 | 1 | $4.0 million |
| Chippewa | 242 | 0 | 0 | $7.3 million |
| Olmsted zone | 242 | 15 | 97 | $2.4 million |
| Steele | 240 | 0 | 1 | $96 million |
| Yellow Medicine | 240 | 2 | 21 | $54 million |
| East Polk zone | 235 | 1 | 0 | $25,000 |
| Mahnomen zone | 234 | 0 | 0 | $5.0 million |
| Roseau zone | 233 | 0 | 0 | $202 million |
| West Becker zone | 232 | 0 | 0 | $4.5 million |
| Isanti | 229 | 0 | 4 | $3.0 million |
| Southern Cook zone | 228 | 1 | 0 | $130,000 |
| Watonwan | 227 | 0 | 0 | $11 million |
| Mower zone | 227 | 9 | 19 | $2.3 million |
| Big Stone zone | 227 | 2 | 6 | |
| Grant zone | 227 | 0 | 0 | $3.6 million |
| Red Lake zone | 225 | 0 | 0 | $2.5 million |
| Northern Cook / Northern Lake zone | 224 | 1 | 2 | |
| Chisago | 222 | 0 | 2 | $7.2 million |
| Pennington zone | 221 | 0 | 0 | $2.0 million |
| Lake of the Woods | 220 | 0 | 1 | $1.3 million |
| Traverse zone | 218 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mahnomen | 217 | 0 | 0 | $3.0 million |
| Red Lake | 216 | 0 | 1 | $4.2 million |
| East Marshall zone | 215 | 0 | 0 | $2.0 million |
| East Becker zone | 215 | 0 | 0 | $121,000 |
| Fillmore zone | 214 | 5 | 11 | $1.7 million |
| Hubbard zone | 214 | 0 | 0 | $21,000 |
| Chippewa zone | 213 | 1 | 0 | |
| Dodge zone | 213 | 1 | 9 | $1.3 million |
| Lac Qui Parle zone | 212 | 0 | 0 | |
| Renville zone | 211 | 0 | 0 | |
| Pennington | 209 | 0 | 0 | $13 million |
| South Beltrami zone | 208 | 0 | 0 | $26,000 |
| East Otter Tail zone | 208 | 0 | 0 | $36,000 |
| Swift zone | 207 | 1 | 0 | |
| Southern Lake zone | 207 | 3 | 0 | $815,000 |
| Yellow Medicine zone | 206 | 5 | 0 | |
| Redwood zone | 204 | 0 | 0 | $1.0 million |
| Brown zone | 201 | 2 | 0 | |
| Wadena zone | 198 | 0 | 0 | $171,000 |
| Traverse | 197 | 0 | 0 | $60 million |
| Benton | 196 | 0 | 2 | $13 million |
| North Beltrami zone | 196 | 0 | 0 | $21,000 |
| South Clearwater zone | 196 | 0 | 0 | $25,000 |
| Douglas zone | 195 | 0 | 0 | |
| Blue Earth zone | 195 | 2 | 0 | $20,000 |
| Koochiching zone | 195 | 0 | 0 | |
| Nicollet zone | 192 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lake of the Woods zone | 192 | 0 | 2 | $771,000 |
| Kandiyohi zone | 191 | 1 | 2 | $20,000 |
| Stevens zone | 190 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hennepin zone | 190 | 3 | 30 | $18 million |
| North Clearwater zone | 190 | 0 | 0 | $21,000 |
| Stearns zone | 188 | 2 | 0 | $21,000 |
| Martin zone | 187 | 0 | 0 | $4.4 million |
| Sibley zone | 186 | 0 | 0 | $200 |
| Northern Cass zone | 185 | 1 | 0 | $950 |
| Kanabec | 183 | 1 | 5 | $788,000 |
| Winona zone | 183 | 4 | 17 | $5.7 million |
| Dakota zone | 182 | 2 | 0 | $116,000 |
| Pope zone | 181 | 0 | 0 | |
| Steele zone | 180 | 0 | 0 | $13 million |
Every year
- 2026
- 2025
- 2024
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- 2022
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- 2019
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- 1961
- 1960
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- 1958
- 1957
- 1956
- 1955
- 1954
- 1953
- 1952
- 1951
- 1950
More
Every tornado in MinnesotaEvery warning in Minnesota since 1986River gauges in MinnesotaEvery state
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.