Carlton County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 267 recorded events between 1967 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 47.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,989 nationally and #65 in Minnesota.
267
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$42.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Carlton County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Carlton County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 4.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 98 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 33 events fall before 1990 and 234 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 $22.0M 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 Carlton County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 126 | 0 | $30K | 2 | 1970–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 105 | 0 | $16K | 70 | 1970–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 18 | 0 | $22.0M | 0 | 2011–2024 |
| Tornado | 9 | 0 | $380K | F2 | 1967–2024 |
| Lightning | 5 | 0 | $745K | 0 | 2002–2025 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $19.0M | 0 | 2012–2017 |
Decade by decade
Carlton County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
8 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-08-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-06-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-06-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1976-06-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-07-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-06-12 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 7.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-08-14 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-06-19 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 19.4 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Carlton County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 7, 1970 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Jay Cooke State Park was evacuated due to severe flooding of the St. Louis River.|Highway 210 through the park was heavily damage. The historic swinging pedestrian bridge was washed away. Miles of hiking and biking trails were damaged.
Moose Head Lake in Moose Lake overflowed its banks after the area received 6 to 8 inches of rain, flooding 30 percent of the town. One hundred and fifty homes were flooded. The schools were flooded. The town's water and sewer system were compromised.
Flooding of the St Louis River began at the Scanlon gage at 1:30 AM CST on June 20th when it reached a level of 10.50 feet. The St Louis River reached a record-breaking crest of 16.66 feet at 3 am CST on June 21. The St Louis River returned below its flood stage of 10.50 feet on June 28th at 10:00 AM CST. Businesses and a campground near the river were flooded.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
36,518
Population (ACS)
$245K
Median home value
10
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 19, 2023 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS 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 |
| Jul 6, 2012 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Carlton County, Minnesota?
267 events are on record between 1967 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $42.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Carlton County?
Hail, with 126 recorded events — 47.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Carlton County?
8 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 7 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Carlton County?
10 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Carlton County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Carlton County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Carlton County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 70 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Carlton 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
- Brown County 314
- Carver County 480
- Blue Earth County 466
- Cass County 557
- Big Stone County 250
- Chippewa County 242
Cite this page
“Carlton County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/carlton-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.