Tornadoes · United States · Minnesota

Tornadoes in Steele County, Minnesota

28 tornadoes have crossed Steele County since 1950, 39th of the 87 counties in Minnesota with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.7 years. They have killed 5 people and injured 36. 1 was rated F4 or EF4 and 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
28
Deaths
5
Injuries
36
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, April 30, 1967

The deadliest in Steele County

  1. F4, Freeborn and Steele counties, MinnesotaApril 30, 19675 killed, 35 injured

The strongest

  1. F4, Freeborn and Steele counties, MinnesotaApril 30, 1967F4, 38.7 mi (62 km)
  2. F3, Freeborn and Steele counties, MinnesotaMay 17, 1982F3, 46.0 mi (74 km)
  3. EF3, Freeborn and Steele counties, MinnesotaJune 17, 2010EF3, 18.1 mi (29 km)
  4. EF3, Steele County, MinnesotaJune 17, 2010EF3, 4.3 mi (7 km)
  5. F2, Waseca and Steele counties, MinnesotaApril 29, 1970F2, 20.1 mi (32 km)
  6. EF2, Steele and Dodge counties, MinnesotaJune 17, 2010EF2, 6.6 mi (11 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 18 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Steele County. Each year links to every tornado in Minnesota that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20212EF0
20192EF0
20182EF1
20171EF1
201051EF3
20021F1
20011F0
19991F0
19971F0
19952F0
19891F0
19842F1
19821F3
19731F0
19701F2
19681F1
19672535F4
19621F1

Every tornado that crossed Steele County

28 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
December 15, 20217:33 PM CSTEF0Steele6.475$105,000
May 19, 20217:37 PM CDTEF0Rice1.525
August 13, 20194:24 PM CDTEF0Steele5.925$1,000
June 17, 20193:52 PM CDTEF0Steele0.030
September 20, 20186:35 PM CDTEF1Steele8.1300
September 20, 20186:28 PM CDTEF1Waseca11.1350
March 6, 20175:38 PM CSTEF1Freeborn11.9300
June 17, 20108:27 PM CDTEF0Steele5.550
June 17, 20108:25 PM CDTEF2Steele6.61001$30,000
June 17, 20108:10 PM CDTEF3Steele4.3440
June 17, 20107:15 PM CDTEF1Freeborn12.6600
June 17, 20107:05 PM CDTEF3Freeborn18.11,320
July 18, 20021:01 PM CDTF1Steele1.050
May 1, 20016:32 PM CDTF0Steele0.125
August 9, 19997:34 PM CDTF0Rice2.50
July 20, 19977:20 PM CDTF0Steele0.123
September 6, 19955:25 PM CDTF0Steele0.110
September 6, 19954:34 PM CDTF0Steele3.050
May 24, 19897:03 PM CDTF0Steele0.110
July 16, 19845:15 PM CDTF1Steele1.0100$5,000 to $50,000
June 7, 19847:25 PM CDTF1Freeborn18.080$500,000 to $5 million
May 17, 19824:02 PM CDTF3Freeborn46.0100$50,000 to $500,000
July 23, 197310:18 PM CDTF0Steele1.0100$500 to $5,000
April 29, 19706:32 PM CDTF2Waseca20.127$50,000 to $500,000
May 15, 19685:40 PM GMT-5F1Steele16.627$5,000 to $50,000
April 30, 19677:23 PM GMT-5F4Freeborn38.7100535$5 million to $50 million
April 30, 19677:05 PM GMT-5F1Steele0.210$5 million to $50 million
May 22, 19626:30 PM GMT-5F1Steele8.010$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

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