Flash Flood in Minnesota
Every flash flood event the National Weather Service has filed in Minnesota, year by year, with the most significant episodes. Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
The most significant on the map
The most significant flash flood episodes in Minnesota.
- 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
- 1,349
- Deaths
- 15
- Injuries
- 37
- Damage
- $374 million
Every year
The most significant
Ranked by deaths, injuries, damage and size together.
- 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.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Minnesota, June 17, 2010Several strong storms developed in west-central Minnesota during the mid afternoon hours of June 17th.
- 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.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Minnesota, September 21, 2005Hail covered the ground.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Minnesota, July 1, 1997Fire caused by lightning strike to tree spread to small shed and tractor.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Minnesota, August 7 to 8, 2010By late in the day on the 7th, an east-west lying warm front had set up just north of the South Dakota border, extending eastward into west central Minnesota. South of the warm front, temperatures were in the mid to upper 80s with dew points in the lower 70s.
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Minnesota, June 7 to 8, 2005Walnut sized hail fell for 10 minutes in Leon Township, Section 8.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Minnesota, July 7 to 8, 2000Several large trees down in Princeton. Top of silo blown off.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Minnesota, June 13, 2001Intermittent touchdowns were reported by the sheriff's office.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Minnesota, August 1 to 2, 2006Initial damage occurred at farmstead just east of the Watonwan/Cottonwood line. Damage included the partial removal of roofs off two large sheds, along with scattered downed trees. The tornado then moved across corn and bean fields.
- 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.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Minnesota, June 13, 2001Minor tree and power pole damage.
- Tornado and Flash Flood in Minnesota, September 20, 2007Warm frontal boundary induced severe weather.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Minnesota, July 2 to 5, 2018During the overnight hours of Tuesday, July 3rd, a persistent line of storms, with rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour, moved very little from Marshall to Redwood Falls, Olivia, then southward to Tracy, Lamberton, and Springfield, Minnesota.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Minnesota, September 14 to 17, 2004After a relatively dry start to the month, a potent late summer storm system brought very heavy rain to parts of southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa on September14 and September15.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Minnesota, July 2, 2012A slow-moving warm front across central Minnesota on July 2nd moved through northeast Minnesota during that night.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Minnesota, June 25, 2010During the morning of Friday June 25th, a small complex of thunderstorms developed across west-central Minnesota, and quickly moved eastward across southern Minnesota. Isolated severe weather occurred with these storms in west-central Minnesota during the morning hours.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Minnesota, June 21 to 22, 2013Two rounds of severe thunderstorms occurred across portions of southern and central Minnesota, between Friday afternoon, June 21st and early Saturday morning, June 22nd.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Minnesota, June 17 to 30, 2012A one in 500 year rainfall hit northeast Minnesota and far northwestern Wisconsin June 19th and 20th.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Minnesota, July 2 to 11, 2005This tornado moved east-northeast along a 4 mile curved path and damaged several grain bins, uprooted numerous trees, and demolished portions of a barn 4 miles west of Northcote. Peak winds were estimated at 130 mph.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Minnesota, September 3 to 4, 2005Golf ball sized hail fell at Games Lake. A number of campers at the lake campground suffered dents and puncture holes in awnings.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Minnesota, September 22 to 27, 2010A stationary front set up across southern Minnesota on the evening of September 22nd. As an unusually moist air mass flowed over this boundary, heavy rain developed and fell repeatedly across the area during the evening and overnight hours.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Minnesota, July 8, 2000The hailstones damaged the steel siding on a home and barn, smashed up 2 cars, and damaged a roof.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Minnesota, June 20 to 21, 2013Several rounds of thunderstorms developed Thursday late afternoon and evening, June 20th, mostly in west central Minnesota, and moved eastward.
More
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.