Benton County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 196 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 53.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,465 nationally and #84 in Minnesota.
196
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$9.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Benton County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Benton County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 2.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 69 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 23 events fall before 1990 and 173 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flash flood, with $3.6M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Benton County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 105 | 0 | $3.4M | 3.5 | 1956–2024 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 59 | 0 | $2.1M | 75 | 1974–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 9 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2022 |
| Heavy Rain | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2022 |
| Tornado | 7 | 0 | $802K | F2 | 1954–2014 |
| Flash Flood | 6 | 0 | $3.6M | 0 | 2001–2016 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2015–2015 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2010 |
Decade by decade
Benton County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
13 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 12 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980-09-03 | EF3 | 1 | 15 | 3.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1953-03-21 | EF2 | 1 | 3 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-09-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-06-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-07-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-06-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-08-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-08-15 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-08-24 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 5.7 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Benton County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 13, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | RICE | 0 | 1 | $50K |
| Aug 15, 1954 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A severe downburst wind event occurred from Sauk Rapids, north and northeast across a large swath of central and northern Benton County. Hundreds of trees were toppled, broken or pushed over. Many trees landed on houses, sheds and vehicles.
Seven to ten inches of rain was common across a large swath of Benton County, from the northwest corner to the southeast. About 30 roads were closed, including State Highway 23 in Foley. A few township roads were washed out. About 3500 sandbags were used in the Foley area. Some basements were flooded. Local agriculture officials estimate that about 10% of the sellable crops in Benton County were destroyed. Numerous creeks in Alberta township (Gilman to Rum River area) rose out of their banks.
Many hundreds, perhaps thousands of trees were uprooted, snapped or broken in an eight mile wide swath that extended from the western edge of the county, near Rice to Watab, to just north of Sartell, to north central Benton County, in Graham Township, centered near State Highway 25 and County Road 77. In addition, a local Minnesota Department of Transportation Weather Station near Rice, measured a wind gust of 64 knots. A semi-truck was blown over near Rice along Highway 10, resulting in one injury. Plus, a spotter on the northeast shore of Little Rock Lake measured a wind gust of 81 mph before his tower collapsed and the anemometer ceased to function. The intense wind blew from the southwest. Hundreds of large and healthy trees were broken or snapped, blocking roads. The storm survey team concluded a downburst hit the area.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
41,593
Population (ACS)
$271K
Median home value
13
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jul 25, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| May 16, 2001 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Apr 8, 1997 | Flood | SEVERE FLOODING, HIGH WINDS,SEVERE STORMS | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Benton County, Minnesota?
196 events are on record between 1954 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $9.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Benton County?
Hail, with 105 recorded events — 53.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Benton County?
13 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 12 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Benton County?
13 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Benton County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Benton County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Benton County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 51 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Benton 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
- Beltrami County 613
- Big Stone County 250
- Becker County 501
- Blue Earth County 466
- Anoka County 536
- Brown County 314
Cite this page
“Benton County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/benton-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.