40
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
48
Direct injuries
$44.7M
Property damage
Tornado in Olmsted County, Minnesota: 40 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #620 nationally and #13 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Olmsted County, Minnesota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Olmsted County is the 1960s, when 10 of the county's 40 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Olmsted County archive, tornado makes up 4.8% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #620 for this hazard and #13 within Minnesota, putting it in the 78.6 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for tornado in Olmsted County with 15 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962-09-16 | EF4 | 0.5 mi | 33 yd | Touched down here |
| 1982-05-17 | EF2 | 4.0 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1982-05-17 | EF2 | 26.0 mi | 800 yd | Touched down here |
| 1979-07-03 | EF2 | 0.5 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1967-04-30 | EF2 | 6.8 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1964-04-13 | EF2 | 3.4 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 1962-05-22 | EF2 | 0.5 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1962-09-16 | EF2 | 3.0 mi | 33 yd | Touched down here |
| 2019-06-04 | EF1 | 1.3 mi | 75 yd | Touched down here |
| 2017-07-19 | EF1 | 0.8 mi | 25 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 1953 | F4 | 1 | 6 | $2.5M | |
| Sep 16, 1962 | F4 | 0 | 34 | $250K | |
| Apr 17, 2026 | OSLO | EF2 | 0 | 3 | $8.2M |
| Apr 29, 1981 | F2 | 0 | 2 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 18, 1974 | F1 | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Sep 26, 1973 | F1 | 0 | 1 | $25K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 2026 | VIOLA | EF2 | $546K |
| Apr 17, 2026 | ROCHESTER | EF1 | $87K |
| Apr 17, 2026 | OSLO | EF2 | $8.2M |
| Apr 17, 2026 | ROCK DELL | EF0 | $5K |
| Sep 20, 2021 | CHATFIELD JCT | EF0 | $100K |
| Jun 4, 2019 | ROCHESTER | EF1 | $40K |
| Jul 19, 2017 | CHESTER | EF1 | $40K |
| Jun 29, 2017 | CHESTER | EF0 | $3K |
| Jun 28, 2017 | DOVER | EF0 | $5K |
| Jun 28, 2017 | VIOLA | EF0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Olmsted County
- Hail 370
- Thunderstorm Wind 315
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This strong EF-2 tornado began on the northeast side of Stewartville resulting in damage to several homes. The tornado then moved northeast through rural areas of Olmsted County while being highly visible on MNDOT cameras and from Rochester. This tornado eventually crossed I-90, hitting a semi-trailer and injuring the occupant, before moving northwest of Simpson. A farmstead near Simpson took a direct hit from the tornado where a single-wide manufactured home was rolled and farm outbuildings were destroyed. The tornado continued northeast into a neighborhood along Marion Road where several homes were rendered uninhabitable due to a collapse of their exterior walls and roof. Numerous other residences sustained window, roof, and outbuilding damage as well. The tornado continued through this neighborhood before dissipating along Timberidge Court between Rochester and Marion. Two more individuals were also injured in this area while sheltering in their home from the tornado.
An EF1 tornado produced intermittent damage starting near 50th Ave NW just south of the Northern Hills Golf Course northeast almost to the intersection of 55th St NW and and 23rd Ave NW in the city of Rochester. The path of the tornado took it through a residential area where several homes were damaged. It also struck a Menards store doing extensive damage before dissipating a few minutes later. According to media reports, the tornado damaged at least 30 homes, one of which was destroyed.
This strong EF-2 tornado began in rural portions of Olmsted County east of Viola where it damaged some farm outbuildings as it moved northeast. As the tornado approached the Wabasha County line, it strengthened and significantly damaged a farmstead, removing large sections of the roof and other portions of the home and outbuildings. It then continued northeast into Wabasha County.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Olmsted County, Minnesota?
40 tornado events are recorded in Olmsted County between 1953 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Olmsted County?
The strongest tornado on record in Olmsted County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Olmsted County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Tornado in Olmsted County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/olmsted-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.