Cottonwood County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 361 recorded events between 1952 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 39.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,423 nationally and #43 in Minnesota.
361
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
7
Direct injuries
$61.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Cottonwood County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Cottonwood County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 4.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 115 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 42 events fall before 1990 and 319 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $35.4M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Cottonwood County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 144 | 0 | $221K | 3 | 1956–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 128 | 0 | $2.8M | 78 | 1973–2025 |
| Flood | 43 | 0 | $22.9M | 0 | 2006–2024 |
| Tornado | 26 | 0 | $35.4M | F3 | 1952–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 11 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2004–2022 |
| Lightning | 4 | 0 | $68K | 0 | 2000–2004 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2015 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2014–2014 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $20K | 0 | 2003–2003 |
Decade by decade
Cottonwood County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
23 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 20 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-03-29 | EF4 | 1 | 19 | 73.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1992-06-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-06-14 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 13.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1952-06-23 | EF2 | 0 | 10 | 104.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-05-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-05-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2000-08-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-06-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-06-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 9.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-07-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 10.9 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Cottonwood County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 29, 1998 | Tornado | WESTBROOK | 0 | 3 | $30.0M |
| Jun 15, 1976 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $250K | |
| Jun 14, 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
Rainfall of 3 to 5 inches (locally 5 to 10 inches upstream) during the first three days of July exacerbated flooding through the Des Moines River basin. A state of emergency was declared in the City of Windom with water breaching Island Park, the golf course, and several homes. Several county, state and local roadways flooded for up to a week, including highway 62 and numerous city streets. Significant amounts of crop and pasture land near the Des Moines River were severely impacted by major flooding as river levels climbed to the second highest crest on record at 4.4 feet above flood stage at Windom (gage site WDOM5) on July 7.
Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage, including numerous trees blown down. Falling trees damaged roofs of houses and destroyed the topper of a pickup truck, and severely damaged another pickup. Power lines were blown down, resulting in power outages. A large storage shed was destroyed. The roof of a house was blown off, and other roof damage to structures was reported.
Thunderstorm winds blew the roof off a barn and destroyed a machine shed. Two cars, a combine, and a field sprayer in the machine shed were damaged. The winds destroyed a barn on another farm, damaging a tractor and a van inside. The winds blew over a sign anchored in cement, with two tractors being damaged when the sign fell on them. Widespread tree and power line damage was also reported.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
11,458
Population (ACS)
$169K
Median home value
17
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 28, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS 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 |
| Sep 5, 2018 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Windom 169
- Westbrook 132
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Cottonwood County, Minnesota?
361 events are on record between 1952 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $61.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Cottonwood County?
Hail, with 144 recorded events — 39.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Cottonwood County?
23 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 20 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Cottonwood County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Cottonwood County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Cottonwood County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Cottonwood County as very low risk, placing it in the 28 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Cottonwood 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
- Cook County 86
- Crow Wing County 609
- Clearwater County 244
- Dakota County 661
- Clay County 504
- Dodge County 360
Cite this page
“Cottonwood County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/cottonwood-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.