Clearwater County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 244 recorded events between 1959 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 49.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,145 nationally and #72 in Minnesota.
244
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$3.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Clearwater County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Clearwater County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 3.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 82 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 33 events fall before 1990 and 211 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $1.3M 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 Clearwater County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 121 | 0 | $520K | 3 | 1968–2023 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 85 | 0 | $1.3M | 87 | 1966–2025 |
| Tornado | 21 | 0 | $1.3M | F2 | 1959–2018 |
| Flash Flood | 9 | 0 | $374K | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2006–2009 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2012 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2002 |
Decade by decade
Clearwater 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: 19 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978-07-05 | EF2 | 4 | 44 | 57.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2013-07-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 21.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1981-08-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-08-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-08-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 25.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2013-07-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2010-06-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-06-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-06-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-06-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.4 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Clearwater County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 9, 1985 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado began in Mahnomen County, just southeast of Mahnomen, at 12:50 am CST. The total tornado track was about 21 miles. The tornado damaged structures at three locations along the route with long tracks of tree and crop damage. Peak winds were estimated at 115 mph.
Ground survey and high resolution satellite confirmed a long swath of widespread destructive straight-line winds estimated between 80 and 90 mph starting across south central Clearwater County north of Highway 200 and south of Highway 2. The swath was 8 miles at its widest and easternmost point in Clearwater County. This surge of straight-line winds continued east into southern Beltrami and northern Hubbard counties where more significant winds and impacts were observed around Bemidji. The 30 mile long swath started in Clearwater County and ended near the southeastern Beltrami county line. There was approximately 60,388 acres of Clearwater County impacted with widespread tree damage within this single swath.
Water flowed over streets and roads as 7 to 11 inches of rain fell. Most of the road damage occurred along Silver Creek. The city park and 3 homes were also flooded. Several roads were washed out in Itasca State Park.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
8,616
Population (ACS)
$192K
Median home value
16
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 13, 2022 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, 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 |
| Apr 9, 2009 | 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 Clearwater County, Minnesota?
244 events are on record between 1959 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $3.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Clearwater County?
Hail, with 121 recorded events — 49.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Clearwater County?
24 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 19 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Clearwater County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Clearwater County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Clearwater County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Clearwater County as very low risk, placing it in the 4 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Clearwater 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
- Clay County 504
- Cook County 86
- Chisago County 214
- Cottonwood County 361
- Chippewa County 242
- Crow Wing County 609
Cite this page
“Clearwater County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/clearwater-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.