Tornadoes · United States · Minnesota

1992 tornadoes in Minnesota

39 tornadoes touched down in Minnesota in 1992, 35 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 1 people and injured 52. 2 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.

1991 1993 The whole country in 1992

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mph

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Every tornado in Minnesota in 1992

June 16 27 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 165:00 PM CDTF5Nobles16.0280135$5 million to $50 million
June 165:18 PM CDTF4Murray7.01603$5 million to $50 million
June 165:30 PM CDTF3Yellow Medicine6.023
June 165:30 PM CDTF2Murray13.040
June 166:00 PM CDTF3Murray12.080
June 166:18 PM CDTF2Lyon2.030
June 166:25 PM CDTF3Redwood16.090
June 166:55 PM CDTF1Redwood0.130
June 166:58 PM CDTF2Swift1.513
June 167:10 PM CDTF3Redwood13.080
June 167:25 PM CDTF2Redwood12.060
June 167:25 PM CDTF2Redwood8.030
June 167:30 PM CDTF1Redwood6.523
June 167:40 PM CDTF2Redwood5.523
June 167:50 PM CDTF2Renville5.023
June 168:25 PM CDTF2Renville3.013
June 169:00 PM CDTF2Renville2.513
June 169:00 PM CDTF1Pipestone0.513
June 169:10 PM CDTF2Murray4.040
June 169:20 PM CDTF2Murray0.530
June 169:40 PM CDTF3Yellow Medicine2.51006$5 million to $50 million
June 1610:30 PM CDTF2Renville2.020
June 1610:30 PM CDTF2Cottonwood7.590
June 1611:00 PM CDTF1Brown1.0100$50,000 to $500,000
June 1611:10 PM CDTF3Wright10.01208
June 1611:20 PM CDTF2Wright10.080
June 1611:50 PM CDTF2Benton0.330

June 22 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 226:23 PM CDTF0Blue Earth0.110

June 24 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 245:10 PM CDTF1Kittson0.540

July 2 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 25:00 AM CDTF0Dodge0.110

September 2 4 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 23:05 PM CDTF1Pope14.030
September 23:42 PM CDTF0Swift19.010
September 24:00 PM CDTF0Kandiyohi7.010
September 24:00 PM CDTF0Stearns0.110

September 16 5 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 162:20 PM CDTF0Hubbard0.110
September 163:10 PM CDTF0Itasca0.110
September 164:15 PM CDTF0Saint Louis8.0100
September 164:20 PM CDTF0Saint Louis3.040$5,000 to $50,000
September 165:43 PM CDTF0Cook1.070

Nearby

Every tornado in Minnesota since 1950Warnings in force in MinnesotaThe live radar over Minnesota

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.