Tornadoes · United States · Minnesota

Tornadoes in Lincoln County, Minnesota

18 tornadoes have crossed Lincoln County since 1950, 68th of the 87 counties in Minnesota with a tornado on record, an average of one every 4.2 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 1. None was rated F4 or above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

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

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

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

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    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. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

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

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

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

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    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.

Now

Tornadoes
18
Deaths
0
Injuries
1
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
EF2, July 1, 2011

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

The 12 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Lincoln County. Each year links to every tornado in Minnesota that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20181EF0
20111EF2
20041F1
20031F0
20015F1
19941F0
19801F0
19702F1
19671F0
19661F0
19561F1
195521F2

Every tornado that crossed Lincoln County

18 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 24, 20183:51 PM CDTEF0Lincoln0.450
July 1, 20113:57 PM CDTEF2Lincoln1.3440$100,000
June 12, 20048:45 PM CDTF1Lincoln1.6100$100,000
June 24, 20035:38 PM CDTF0Lincoln0.150
June 13, 20018:46 PM CDTF1Lincoln2.0100$2,000
June 13, 20018:20 PM CDTF0Lincoln0.150
June 13, 20017:18 PM CDTF1Lincoln0.5100$50,000
June 13, 20017:12 PM CDTF0Lincoln0.150
June 13, 20017:12 PM CDTF0Lincoln0.150
October 6, 19946:10 PM CDTF0Lincoln3.050
May 26, 19805:45 PM CDTF0Lincoln0.117
July 1, 19709:30 PM CDTF1Lincoln1.520$5,000 to $50,000
June 15, 197011:15 PM CDTF1Lincoln4.320$50,000 to $500,000
June 15, 19675:00 PM GMT-5F0Lincoln0.110$5,000 to $50,000
June 19, 19664:30 PM GMT-5F0Lincoln1.010$500 to $5,000
June 25, 19567:00 PM GMT-5F1Lincoln0.110$5,000 to $50,000
July 7, 19554:00 PM GMT-5F1Lincoln0.1101
April 19, 19558:30 PM GMT-6F2Lincoln9.280$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Lincoln CountyThe forecast for Lincoln CountyThe live radar over Lincoln CountyEvery county in 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.