Minnesota Tornado History and Statistics

photo of tornado - Elbow Lake, MN - September 5, 1969

Elbow Lake Tornado - September 5, 1969

Tornadoes are among the most devastating and awesome local storms that occur on Earth. The United States has the dubious distinction of having the greatest frequency and the most severe tornadoes. Tornadoes have the power to lift railroad cars and sail them many yards through the air. The power of their winds can make deadly missiles of loose objects, including broken glass. Even pieces of straw have been found embedded in trees and boards after a tornado.

During the winter months (December through February) tornado activity is concentrated in the southeast U.S. and along the Gulf Coast. As spring (March/May) progresses, tornado occurrence moves north and west across the central Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys. By summer (June/August) the potential threat of tornadoes has spread across the continental United States and Southern Canada. During autumn (September/November), tornadic activity gradually retreats to the south and southeast sections of the country and is often associated with hurricanes.

This seasonal drift is principally caused by the increase of warm, Gulf of Mexico moisture into the central part of the country during spring and summer, decreasing during the fall and winter. Severe weather and even tornadoes can occur when this warm and moist intersects a cold-air boundary and is overtopped by strong winds aloft.

Minnesota lies along the north edge of the region of maximum tornado occurrence in the United States, often referred to as Tornado Alley.

storm forecast and reports map

Summary of severe weather reports overlaying original Storm Prediction Center forecast for December 15, 2021 outbreak. Courtesy of National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen

In Minnesota, tornadoes generally occur May through September, but some years see them occurring much earlier and/or later in the season. The record earliest-in-the-season tornadoes in Minnesota were the three that occurred on March 6, 2017, which broke the previous record from March 18, 1968, north of Truman in Martin County. The seasonally-latest reported tornadoes in Minnesota were on December 15, 2021 during a major regional severe weather outbreak (see image at right). This outbreak broke the previous record for late-season tornadoes by nearly one month; it had been November 16, 1931, when a single tornado struck east of Maple Plain in Hennepin County.

Historically and statistically, June is the month of greatest frequency with July not far behind. May has the third greatest frequency, followed closely by August. Over 85% of all tornadoes in Minnesota have occurred between May and August.

Tornadoes are most common between 2:00 PM and 9:00 PM, but can and do occur at any time of the day, or night.

Many of the deadly and damaging tornadoes occur in groups or outbreaks that often last from 3 to 12 hours. One of the worst such outbreaks in Minnesota occurred on June 17, 2010, when  48 tornadoes affected 22 counties in northwestern, west-central, central, east-central, south-central, and southeastern Minnesota over a period of six hours. Other noteworthy large-area outbreaks occurred June 16, 1992 (which included the state's most recent F5 tornado, in Chandler); June 28, 1979, when 16 tornadoes slashed across the state from northwest to southeast; August 6, 1969, when powerful and massive tornadoes devastated parts of northern Minnesota; and the April 30, 1967 "Black Sunday" outbreak in southern and southeastern Minnesota.

Minnesota Tornado Statistics

 

 
Minnesota Tornado Statistics

1950 - 2020

Totals

Annual Average

Tornadoes

2052

46 (1991 to 2020)

Tornado Deaths (last death was 2020)

100

 

Tornado Injuries

1985

 

 

Tornado Totals and Averages by Month (1991 - 2020)
 

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Total

Totals

23

27

170

426

351

199

84

21

5

1306

Average

0.8

.9

5.7

14.2

11.7

6.6

2.8

0.7

0.2

46

Percent

1.8

2.1

13.0

32.6

26.9

15.2

6.4

1.6

0.4

100

 

Greatest Number of Tornadoes in Minnesota (1950-2020)

One Year

113 in 2010

One Month

71 in June 2010

One Day

48 on June 17, 2010

Memorable Minnesota Tornadoes

Location

Date

Time

Deaths

Injuries

Ft. Snelling
First tornado reported in Minnesota.

4/19/1820

11:00 PM (est.)

0

0

Rochester
Large factor in the subsequent development of the Mayo Clinic.

8/21/1883

6:36 PM

37

200

St. Cloud/Sauk Rapids
Deadliest tornado in Minnesota history. 11 members of a wedding party were killed including the groom. The bride eventually remarried.

4/14/1886

4:00 PM

72

213

Lake Gervias (Ramsey County)
Widely visible throughout St. Paul.

7/13/1890

5:30 PM

6

30

Minneapolis/St. Paul
Could have been straight-line winds or microburst.

8/21/1904

7:30 PM

14

unknown

Tyler

8/21/1918

9:20 PM

36

225

Fergus Falls
Second deadliest killer tornado in Minnesota history.

6/22/1919

4:45 PM

57

200

Austin
Tornado hit northern Iowa and southern Minnesota. Five deaths were in Austin

8/20/1928

4:10 PM

6

60

Anoka/Champlin

6/18/1939

2:00 PM

9

222

Mankato/North Mankato
About an hour apart, tornadoes slashed through the cities of Mankato and North Mankato.

8/17/1946

5:40 PM

11

100

Wells

8/17/1946

6:50 PM

0

30

Southeast Minnesota
Family of tornadoes.

5/10/1953

4:00-5:00 PM

7

19

Fargo/Moorhead

6/20/1957

6:40 PM

10

103

Western and Northern Twin Cities
NWS Page for the May 6, 1965 Tornadoes
Family of tornadoes. Most expensive tornado disaster in Minnesota history (50 million dollars without inflation adjustment).

5/6/1965

6:00-9:00 PM

13

683

South Central Minnesota
Eight tornadoes struck, including three that were rated F4. A four block wide swath was cut in the town of Waseca.

4/30/1967

6:00-8:00 PM

13

65

Tracy

6/13/1968

7:02 PM

9

125

Outing

8/6/1969

4:02 PM

12

70

Gary

7/5/1978

1:56 AM (CST)

4

38

Lake Harriet/Har Mar
Tornado tore across the Twin Cities from Edina to Roseville.

6/14/1981

3:49-4:15 PM

1

83

St. Anthony-Apache Plaza

4/26/1984

8:33-8:41 PM

1

52

Brooklyn Park
Viewed live on TV. See the KARE-11 Newscast part 1 part 2

7/18/1986

approx: 3:47-4:27PM

0

0

Chandler
Last F5 tornado in Minnesota.

6/16/1992

4:00 PM

1

35

Littlefork
Last multiple deaths due to single tornado.

8/9/1993

1:35 AM

2

0

Comfrey/St. Peter
The greatest March tornado outbreak in Minnesota history. Family of 13 tornadoes stuck St. Peter and Comfrey especially hard.

3/29/1998

4:30 PM

1

16

Granite Falls

7/25/2000

4:57 PM

1

15

Kasota

8/24/2006

5:30-6:25PM

1

37

Rogers

9/16/2006

9:58 PM

1

0

Hugo
NWS Tornado Page for Hugo

5/25/2008

4:55 PM

1

9

Wadena and many Minnesota locations
NWS Page for June 17, 2010 Tornadoes
Major tornado outbreak. 48 tornadoes were reported, with three of these tornadoes reaching EF4 (166-200 mph) on the Enhanced Fujita Intensity Scale. Three fatalities were attributed to the tornadoes at widely dispersed locations; Mentor in Polk County, near Almora in Otter Tail County, and near Albert Lea in Freeborn County. A large number of homes in Wadena of Wadena County were damaged or destroyed.

6/17/2010

various

3

45

Minneapolis

5/22/2011

2:13 PM

1

48

South Central and Southeast MN

9/20/2018

various

0

1

Grant & Otter Tail County (west-central MN)
Photogenic, widely-filmed but also destructive and deadly tornado. First EF-4 tornado in Minnesota since August of 2010.

7/8/2020

5:08 PM

1

2

South central and southeast Minnesota)
The latest tornadoes so late in a season in Minnesota. At least sixteen tornadoes were reported.

12/15/2021

between 7-8:30 PM

0

unknown

More Tornado Information

Last modified: April 29, 2024.
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