Lincoln County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 254 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 44.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,084 nationally and #69 in Minnesota.
254
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$3.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Lincoln County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Lincoln County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 3.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 85 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 22 events fall before 1990 and 232 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 $2.1M 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 Lincoln County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 112 | 0 | $300K | 4.5 | 1980–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 90 | 0 | $2.1M | 78 | 1979–2025 |
| Flood | 26 | 0 | $485K | 0 | 2011–2024 |
| Tornado | 18 | 0 | $830K | F2 | 1955–2018 |
| Flash Flood | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2014–2016 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2019–2019 |
Decade by decade
Lincoln 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: 17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-07-07 | EF4 | 1 | 13 | 30.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-07-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-06-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 36.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1968-06-21 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 16.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1955-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-06-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2001-06-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1997-07-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1970-06-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-07-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Lincoln County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 7, 1955 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Thunderstorm winds of unknown speed blew down a radio tower and power lines, caused widespread tree damage, blew the roof off of a home and caused other building damage. The winds combined with heavy rain to flatten corn and soybean crops. The damage occurred over a roughly 10 by 20 mile area. Crop damage was undetermined because some crops were expected to recover and the extent of recovery would not be known until after harvest. However, the damage was known to be major, and the Farm Service Agency director estimated that 99,000 acres in the county were at least somewhat affected by the winds and accompanying hail and heavy rain.
Flooding of lakes, streams, and lowlands, including some farmland, continued in the county through April. While flooding of small streams abated, lake and lowland flooding continued with very slow improvement. Several roads remained flooded. High water and groundwater levels resulting from record precipitation in the previous year was the main reason that the flooding either grew worse or improved so slowly.
Runoff from occasional precipitation in late March and very early April maintained significant flooding of agricultural and pasture lands near the Redwood River. The Redwood River at Russell (gage site RUSM5) crested at 0.80 feet above flood stage on April 8.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
5,603
Population (ACS)
$164K
Median home value
14
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Jul 28, 2011 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Oct 13, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Lincoln County, Minnesota?
254 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $3.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Lincoln County?
Hail, with 112 recorded events — 44.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Lincoln County?
23 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 17 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Lincoln County?
14 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Lincoln County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Lincoln County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Lincoln County as very low risk, placing it in the 18 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Lincoln 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
- Le Sueur County 266
- Lyon County 496
- Lake of the Woods County 220
- McLeod County 570
- Lake County 161
- Mahnomen County 216
Cite this page
“Lincoln County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/lincoln-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.