Aitkin County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 374 recorded events between 1952 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 48.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,362 nationally and #38 in Minnesota.
374
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$4.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Aitkin County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Aitkin County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 5.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 148 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 38 events fall before 1990 and 336 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Aitkin County, Minnesota record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $4.1M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Aitkin County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 180 | 0 | $41K | 78 | 1972–2025 |
| Hail | 139 | 0 | $9K | 3.25 | 1972–2025 |
| Tornado | 22 | 1 | $4.1M | F4 | 1952–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 16 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2020 |
| Flood | 13 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2013 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2000–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2018–2018 |
Decade by decade
Aitkin County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
24 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 17 touched down inside it and 7 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969-08-06 | EF4 | 12 | 70 | 32.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1966-06-11 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 72.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1969-08-06 | EF3 | 1 | 3 | 12.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-06-30 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-06-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 14.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1985-07-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 33.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1977-09-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-06-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-08-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-06-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Aitkin County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 6, 1969 | Tornado | 1 | 3 | $250K | |
| Sep 1, 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | WAUKENABO | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Another tornado developed on the northern portion of Hammal lake, where localized pockets of extensive tree damage were located, and one three-season cabin and boat house were completely destroyed and partially thrown into the water. The tornado continued east- southeast, uprooting and snapping several mature tree trunks as it crossed Highway 169 and Hanging Kettle Lake. The tornado then took a east-southeastward path through Ripple Lake, uprooting trees and knocking over an 85 foot tall antenna tower before the tornado ended over southeastern Ripple Lake. No fatalities or injuries were reported.
The tornado initially formed near Wolford in Crow Wing County and entered Aitkin County near the end of Cedar Lake Drive on Cedar Lake. The tornado path was to the southeast, crossing 456th Place, 320th Street, and, finally, 310th Street before lifting. This last section of the tornado path after Cedar Lake shows damage to numerous trees via satellite imagery before the visible damage path ends just to the southwest of the intersection of 310th Street and Pioneer Avenue. The tornado was rates as an EF-0 in Aitkin County, but produced EF-2 damage in Crow Wing County just before crossing into Aitkin County. No fatalities or injuries were reported.
Photos were received of extremely localized wind damage consisting of numerous medium to large trees snapped near the base along with upstairs windows blown in. There was no damage to nearly neighbors. A weakening storm moved overhead and likely produced a microburst over the property.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
16,056
Population (ACS)
$256K
Median home value
21
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 19, 2023 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 9, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 8, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 7, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Sep 5, 2018 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Aitkin County, Minnesota?
374 events are on record between 1952 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $4.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Aitkin County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 180 recorded events — 48.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Aitkin County?
24 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 17 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Aitkin County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Aitkin County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Aitkin County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Aitkin County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 57 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Aitkin County, Minnesota severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Anoka County 536
- Becker County 501
- Beltrami County 613
- Benton County 196
- Big Stone County 250
- Blue Earth County 466
Cite this page
“Aitkin County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/aitkin-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.