Clay County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 504 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 42.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #861 nationally and #16 in Minnesota.
504
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$19.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Clay County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Clay County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 7.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 149 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 79 events fall before 1990 and 425 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is hail, with $10.0M 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 Clay County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 214 | 0 | $10.0M | 3 | 1959–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 182 | 0 | $644K | 80 | 1960–2025 |
| Tornado | 42 | 0 | $2.0M | F5 | 1957–2022 |
| Flash Flood | 32 | 0 | $5.7M | 0 | 1998–2023 |
| Flood | 19 | 0 | $1.2M | 0 | 2006–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 11 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2022 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $265K | 0 | 1998–2020 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2011 |
Decade by decade
Clay County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
50 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 44 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957-06-20 | EF5 | 10 | 103 | 52.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1975-06-28 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 5.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-06-28 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-08-30 | EF3 | 0 | 8 | 5.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-07-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1996-06-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-06-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 14.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1952-07-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-05-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-09-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Clay County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 12, 1958 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $25K | |
| May 15, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | MOORHEAD | 0 | 2 | $10K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Training thunderstorms dumped waves of rainfall across the Moorhead area. The official Moorhead NWS observer reported 7.31 inches of rain. This is believed to be a new 24 hour rainfall record for the Fargo-Moorhead area. The heavy rain halted traffic, inundated storm sewers, and knocked out electricity and phone service. One electrical substation in Moorhead failed when the water rose high enough to cause it to short out.
This tornado tracked north-northeastward along the eastern edge of Moorhead and was likely enshrouded in downburst winds and heavy rain. A few wooden power poles were snapped and numerous trees were uprooted or snapped. Some mature trees were thrown more than 100 feet. Peak winds were estimated at 105 mph.
This tornado began at 742 pm CST, 3 miles north of Borup, in Norman County. This tornado collapsed at least one shed, snapped numerous trees, and tossed large round hay bales across a sugar beet field. It also snapped at least a half dozen wooden power poles. Peak winds were estimated at 125 mph.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
66,059
Population (ACS)
$266K
Median home value
29
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 |
| Jun 12, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 10, 2011 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 19, 2010 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Clay County, Minnesota?
504 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $19.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Clay County?
Hail, with 214 recorded events — 42.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Clay County?
50 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 44 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Clay County?
29 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Clay County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Clay County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Clay County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 74 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Clay 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
- Chisago County 214
- Clearwater County 244
- Chippewa County 242
- Cook County 86
- Cass County 557
- Cottonwood County 361
Cite this page
“Clay County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/clay-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.