Nicollet County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 269 recorded events between 1952 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 40.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,971 nationally and #63 in Minnesota.
269
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
10
Direct injuries
$131.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Nicollet County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Nicollet County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 3.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 1990s, with 67 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 36 events fall before 1990 and 233 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Nicollet County, Minnesota record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $126.6M 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 Nicollet County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 110 | 0 | $101K | 4.5 | 1956–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 101 | 0 | $4.7M | 87 | 1962–2024 |
| Tornado | 29 | 1 | $126.6M | F4 | 1952–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 11 | 0 | $85K | 0 | 1996–2020 |
| Flood | 6 | 1 | $500K | 0 | 1999–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–1997 |
Decade by decade
Nicollet County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
31 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 28 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 |
| 2006-08-24 | EF3 | 1 | 37 | 33.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-03-29 | EF3 | 1 | 0 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-03-29 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-06-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1952-06-23 | EF2 | 0 | 10 | 104.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-08-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-08-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-06-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-06-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Nicollet County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 22, 2011 | Flood | NORTH STAR | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | Tornado | NICOLLET | 1 | 0 | $120.0M |
| Aug 24, 2006 | Tornado | NICOLLET | 0 | 7 | $3.5M |
| Jun 21, 1974 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Tornado made a direct hit on the city of St. Peter and Gustavius Adolphus College. All major buildings on campus suffered varying degrees of damage. The spire on Christ Chapel snapped in half. 70% of the windows on campus were broken. 500 homes were destroyed in St. Peter, 1,700 were damaged. Over 1,000 trees uprooted. One person killed just outside St. Peter when the tornado struck a vehicle. St. Peter Catholic Church destroyed. Hospital severely damaged. Roof ripped off library. 25% of books lost. Debris from St. Peter found 50 miles away in southern suburbs of the Twin Cities. 60 rural homes and farms damaged or destroyed from Courtland to St. Peter. Rural damage estimated at 6.5 million.
Several highways and county roads from North Mankato, northward along the Minnesota River to Le Sueur, Minnesota were impassable due to Spring flooding. Some of the major routes included 169, 22, and 93 and 99. There was one fatality on March 22 when a MNDOT worker tried to clear an ice jam and his Backhoe tipped over and fell into the area where Seven Mile Creek flows into the Minnesota River.
Roof torn off high school gymnasium resulting in water damage to floor. Garage walls blown down at pair of houses in northwestern part of town. High winds affected 100,000 to 115,000 acres across Nicollet county. 50,000 acres of crops severely damaged. Damage estimate for entire county. Estimated windspeed.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
34,411
Population (ACS)
$270K
Median home value
22
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 28, 2024 | 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 |
| Sep 5, 2018 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 21, 2014 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Nicollet County, Minnesota?
269 events are on record between 1952 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $131.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Nicollet County?
Hail, with 110 recorded events — 40.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Nicollet County?
31 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 28 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Nicollet County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Nicollet County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Nicollet County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Nicollet County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 45 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Nicollet 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
- Murray County 296
- Nobles County 451
- Mower County 501
- Norman County 344
- Morrison County 376
- Olmsted County 838
Cite this page
“Nicollet County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/nicollet-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.