Big Stone County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 250 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 45.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,107 nationally and #71 in Minnesota.
250
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$1.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Big Stone County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Big Stone County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 3.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 90 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 26 events fall before 1990 and 224 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $1.5M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Big Stone County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 113 | 0 | $0 | 91 | 1955–2025 |
| Hail | 104 | 0 | $0 | 4 | 1957–2025 |
| Flood | 14 | 0 | $332K | 0 | 2008–2025 |
| Tornado | 13 | 0 | $1.5M | F3 | 1956–2022 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2016–2022 |
| Flash Flood | 3 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2008–2025 |
Decade by decade
Big Stone County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
15 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-05-17 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 18.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1956-10-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-05-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-06-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-07-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-10-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-10-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-10-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-06-14 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-06-14 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rain from thunderstorms, in concert with an already wet spring, resulted in flooding that damaged township roads and culverts. Damage assessments between Otrey and Artichoke Lake townships reached 331655.85 dollars.
A trained spotter surveying for damage reported multiple trees topped, uprooted or damaged at a farmstead northeast of Ortonville. Minor structural damage to a small grain bin and outbuilding included shingles torn from the roof.
Several uprooted and snapped trees on the property. A machine shed was leaning east and another barn leaning northeast. The house on the property was also leaning with a several inch gap between the house and the chimney. The house was deemed unlivable.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
5,127
Population (ACS)
$169K
Median home value
20
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 |
| Jun 12, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Big Stone County, Minnesota?
250 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $1.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Big Stone County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 113 recorded events — 45.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Big Stone County?
15 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 14 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Big Stone County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Big Stone County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Big Stone County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Big Stone County as very low risk, placing it in the 9 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Big Stone 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
- Benton County 196
- Blue Earth County 466
- Beltrami County 613
- Brown County 314
- Becker County 501
- Carlton County 267
Cite this page
“Big Stone County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/big-stone-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.