Crow Wing County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 609 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 48.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #564 nationally and #11 in Minnesota.
609
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
21
Direct injuries
$16.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Crow Wing County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Crow Wing County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 8.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 214 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 63 events fall before 1990 and 546 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $12.4M 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 Crow Wing County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 293 | 0 | $1.4M | 87 | 1956–2025 |
| Hail | 255 | 0 | $13K | 4 | 1971–2025 |
| Tornado | 28 | 0 | $12.4M | F4 | 1966–2025 |
| Flood | 12 | 0 | $634K | 0 | 2011–2020 |
| Flash Flood | 11 | 0 | $250K | 0 | 1996–2022 |
| Lightning | 8 | 0 | $1.9M | 0 | 1997–2019 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2011 |
Decade by decade
Crow Wing County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
28 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969-08-06 | EF4 | 12 | 70 | 32.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-06-11 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 72.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1991-07-05 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 6.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1977-08-26 | EF3 | 0 | 11 | 26.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-06-25 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-06-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-06-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 14.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-06-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-06-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-10-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Crow Wing County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 27, 1977 | Tornado | 0 | 11 | $2.5M | |
| Jul 25, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | CROSS LAKE | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Jul 6, 1991 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 26, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 20, 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | BAY LAKE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 11, 1998 | Lightning | BAXTER | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Mississippi River at Fort Ripley rose to its 10 foot flood stage at 11:00 PM CST June 19th. The Mississippi River crested at 12.42 feet at 8:00 AM CST on June 25th. The river remained at 11.68 feet, above flood stage, through the end of June. As a result of the Mississippi River flooding, many tributaries became backed up and flooded. Parts of Crow Wing State Park were flooded, included the picnic areas, trails and the boat landing. The boat landing was reopened on July 24th. The Black Bear and Miller Lakes neighborhoods was flooded. Numerous roads and bridges were damaged across Crow Wing County.
A house was struck by a positive bolt of lightning which caused a fire that began in the basement. Fire crews were on the scene for about 3 hours and reported a lot of smoke and water damage, all electronics destroyed, holes through the roof and floors, complete loss of the mechanical room and part of the kitchen, making the house most likely a total loss.
Trees and power lines were blown down across most county roads between County Highway 11 and the Merrifield area. Many of the trees were healthy and about a foot in diameter. Trees fell on campers at Mission Lake. There was also damage reported to the docks at the east end of Pelican Lake.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
67,686
Population (ACS)
$307K
Median home value
13
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 9, 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 |
| Jul 6, 2012 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
| Jun 1, 2002 | Fire | MN – BY-PASS FIRE – 05/31/2002 | FM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Brainerd 116
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Crow Wing County, Minnesota?
609 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $16.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Crow Wing County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 293 recorded events — 48.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Crow Wing County?
28 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 23 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Crow Wing County?
13 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Crow Wing County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Crow Wing County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Crow Wing County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 78 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Crow Wing 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
- Cottonwood County 361
- Dakota County 661
- Cook County 86
- Dodge County 360
- Clearwater County 244
- Douglas County 374
Cite this page
“Crow Wing County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/crow-wing-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.