Tornadoes · United States · Minnesota

Tornadoes in Rice County, Minnesota

43 tornadoes have crossed Rice County since 1950, 11th of the 87 counties in Minnesota with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.8 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 4. 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
43
Deaths
0
Injuries
4
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, July 27, 1987

The strongest

  1. F3, Goodhue and Rice counties, MinnesotaJuly 27, 1987F3, 30.0 mi (48 km)
  2. F2, Rice and Dakota counties, MinnesotaMay 15, 1968F2, 15.4 mi (25 km)
  3. F2, Rice, Dakota and Goodhue counties, MinnesotaMay 9, 2001F2, 12.0 mi (19 km)
  4. F2, Rice County, MinnesotaSeptember 6, 1995F2, 8.0 mi (13 km)
  5. F2, Rice County, MinnesotaMarch 29, 1998F2, 5.0 mi (8 km)
  6. EF2, Rice County, MinnesotaSeptember 20, 2018EF2, 4.9 mi (8 km)
  7. EF2, Rice County, MinnesotaSeptember 20, 2018EF2, 3.0 mi (5 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 15 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Rice County. Each year links to every tornado in Minnesota that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20252EF1
20241Unrated
20215EF1
201811EF2
20163EF1
20051F0
200121F2
19994F0
19984F2
19952F2
19932F0
19871F3
19841F0
196833F2
19591F1

Every tornado that crossed Rice County

43 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 28, 20255:52 PM CDTEF1Rice3.3175
April 28, 20255:38 PM CDTEF0Rice0.440
July 13, 20244:59 PM CDTUnratedRice0.520
May 19, 20218:17 PM CDTEF1Rice1.225
May 19, 20218:13 PM CDTEF0Rice0.210
May 19, 20217:42 PM CDTEF0Rice1.850
May 19, 20217:39 PM CDTEF0Rice0.315
May 19, 20217:37 PM CDTEF0Rice1.525
September 20, 20186:52 PM CDTEF1Rice5.3550
September 20, 20186:46 PM CDTEF0Rice5.575
September 20, 20186:45 PM CDTEF1Rice5.8440
September 20, 20186:44 PM CDTEF1Rice4.7440
September 20, 20186:44 PM CDTEF1Rice7.2300
September 20, 20186:40 PM CDTEF1Rice1.6150
September 20, 20186:40 PM CDTEF1Rice9.1500
September 20, 20186:37 PM CDTEF2Rice3.0600
September 20, 20186:35 PM CDTEF1Rice8.6440
September 20, 20186:31 PM CDTEF2Rice4.9300
August 27, 20185:17 PM CDTEF0Rice2.3100
July 5, 20167:39 PM CDTEF1Rice3.7100$25,000
June 14, 20164:28 PM CDTEF0Rice0.325
June 14, 20164:05 PM CDTEF0Le Sueur2.225
May 8, 20057:40 PM CDTF0Rice1.025
May 9, 20018:00 PM CDTF2Rice12.0501$20 million
May 9, 20017:45 PM CDTF0Rice0.150
August 12, 19999:13 PM CDTF0Le Sueur1.00
August 9, 19997:46 PM CDTF0Rice1.050
August 9, 19997:38 PM CDTF0Rice0.80
August 9, 19997:34 PM CDTF0Rice2.50
June 27, 19987:02 PM CDTF0Rice0.130
June 27, 19986:27 PM CDTF0Rice0.130
March 29, 19986:16 PM CSTF2Rice5.0440$20 million
March 29, 19986:09 PM CSTF1Rice0.1200
September 6, 19954:42 PM CDTF0Rice0.110
September 6, 19954:36 PM CDTF2Rice8.0250
July 19, 19931:50 AM CDTF0Rice0.110
July 9, 19932:40 PM CDTF0Rice0.530
July 27, 19873:20 PM CDTF3Goodhue30.0220$500,000 to $5 million
June 4, 19844:45 PM CDTF0Rice0.110
August 19, 19683:40 PM GMT-5F1Rice18.360$50,000 to $500,000
June 20, 19689:05 PM GMT-5F1Rice0.110$5,000 to $50,000
May 15, 19683:28 PM GMT-5F2Rice15.43333$50,000 to $500,000
June 27, 19599:00 PM GMT-5F1Rice2.040$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

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