Tornadoes · United States · Minnesota

Tornadoes in Pope County, Minnesota

31 tornadoes have crossed Pope County since 1950, 30th of the 87 counties in Minnesota with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.5 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 13. 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
31
Deaths
0
Injuries
13
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, June 18, 1964

The strongest

  1. F3, Pope County, MinnesotaJune 18, 1964F3, 6.2 mi (10 km)
  2. EF2, Pope and Douglas counties, MinnesotaMay 30, 2022EF2, 19.6 mi (32 km)
  3. F2, Pope County, MinnesotaMay 10, 1953F2, 17.0 mi (27 km)
  4. F2, Pope County, MinnesotaJuly 7, 1959F2, 13.0 mi (21 km)
  5. EF2, Swift and Pope counties, MinnesotaJuly 14, 2009EF2, 7.9 mi (13 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 19 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Pope County. Each year links to every tornado in Minnesota that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20225EF2
20201EF0
20171EF1
20161EF0
20154EF0
20121EF0
20101EF0
20091EF2
20051F0
20032F1
20003F0
19971F1
19961F1
19921F1
19732F1
19662F1
1964113F3
19591F2
19531F2

Every tornado that crossed Pope County

31 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 30, 20224:27 PM CDTEF2Pope19.6800
May 30, 20224:13 PM CDTEF1Pope3.2200
May 30, 20224:04 PM CDTEF1Pope5.4100
May 30, 20223:40 PM CDTEF1Swift18.3350
May 12, 20226:52 PM CDTEF0Pope1.925
August 14, 20204:17 PM CDTEF0Pope1.275$2,000
September 19, 201712:32 AM CDTEF1Pope9.2880$1.3 million
May 25, 20163:10 PM CDTEF0Pope0.225$10,000
May 16, 20157:56 PM CDTEF0Pope0.815
May 16, 20157:41 PM CDTEF0Pope2.550
May 16, 20157:15 PM CDTEF0Pope5.0200
May 16, 20157:01 PM CDTEF0Pope0.115
May 1, 20124:48 PM CDTEF0Pope0.150
July 10, 20108:15 PM CDTEF0Pope1.750$200,000
July 14, 20094:21 PM CDTEF2Swift7.9350$500,000
April 19, 20055:06 PM CDTF0Pope0.125
June 24, 20035:55 PM CDTF0Pope0.125
June 22, 20037:50 PM CDTF1Pope0.125$10,000
July 7, 20008:55 PM CDTF0Pope0.120
July 7, 20008:22 PM CDTF0Pope1.020
July 7, 20007:58 PM CDTF0Pope0.320
July 1, 19974:35 PM CDTF1Pope0.150
October 26, 19964:15 PM CDTF1Pope2.0350
September 2, 19923:05 PM CDTF1Pope14.030
August 31, 19735:30 PM CDTF1Stevens13.977$50,000 to $500,000
June 2, 19739:32 PM CDTF0Pope3.0100$5,000 to $50,000
July 10, 19665:00 PM GMT-5F1Pope0.110$50,000 to $500,000
July 4, 19665:15 PM GMT-5F0Pope0.110$5,000 to $50,000
June 18, 19643:30 PM GMT-5F3Pope6.220013$50,000 to $500,000
July 7, 195912:30 AM GMT-5F2Pope13.030$5,000 to $50,000
May 10, 19534:55 PM GMT-5F2Pope17.0440$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Pope CountyThe forecast for Pope CountyThe live radar over Pope 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.