Otter Tail County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 1,051 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 43.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #124 nationally and #3 in Minnesota.
1,051
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
42
Direct injuries
$30.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Otter Tail County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Otter Tail County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 15.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 327 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 119 events fall before 1990 and 932 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Otter Tail County, Minnesota record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $14.4M 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 Otter Tail County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 458 | 0 | $185K | 4.5 | 1956–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 405 | 0 | $14.1M | 126 | 1955–2025 |
| Tornado | 87 | 3 | $14.4M | F3 | 1955–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 39 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2022 |
| Flash Flood | 39 | 0 | $542K | 0 | 1998–2020 |
| Flood | 11 | 0 | $52K | 0 | 2006–2020 |
| Lightning | 7 | 0 | $1.1M | 0 | 1998–2002 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2011 |
Decade by decade
Otter Tail County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
92 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 85 touched down inside it and 7 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-07-08 | EF4 | 1 | 2 | 8.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2010-06-17 | EF4 | 1 | 5 | 39.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2010-06-17 | EF4 | 0 | 20 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-06-13 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-07-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-09-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-06-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-06-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-06-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-06-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Otter Tail County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 16, 1987 | Tornado | 1 | 8 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 17, 2010 | Tornado | URBANK | 1 | 5 | $0 |
| Jul 8, 2020 | Tornado | DALTON | 1 | 2 | $1.5M |
| May 6, 1964 | Tornado | 0 | 13 | $250K | |
| Aug 26, 1977 | Tornado | 0 | 8 | $250K | |
| Jun 13, 2001 | Tornado | PARKERS PRAIRIE | 0 | 3 | $5.0M |
| Jun 20, 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | RICHVILLE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 7, 2002 | Lightning | PERHAM | 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 Grant County, but after about two miles, it crossed into Otter Tail County, where it ended about 5 miles east of Dalton. The total track through both counties was about 9 miles. Peak winds were estimated at 170 mph, based on available damage indicators. At least 10 farmsteads were impacted, with three homes, one pole shed, and one machine shed destroyed.
This tornado began in Douglas County, Minnesota. It moved northward into Otter Tail County and produced an additional 38 miles of continuous damage path. The tornado destroyed numerous homes and farmsteads along its path, completely sweeping 7 homes from their foundations. At times, this multi-vortex tornado complex consisted of multiple tornadic tubes pivoting around a common center. Peak winds were estimated at 175 mph.
The tornado caused quite a bit of damage along its path across southeast Otter Tail county before it crossed into Todd county. At one farmstead, 9 people huddled inside a house with no basement as its roof was torn off. Nobody was injured, but another trailer home nearby was completely destroyed. Many irrigation systems were overturned, trees, power poles, and lines snapped, and grain bins destroyed by the strong wind. An estimated 100 poles were broken off leaving nearly 1,100 people without power. At another farm, a 40×80 foot pole barn was wrecked. About 6 miles northeast of Parkers Prairie, a man and his two kids rode out the storm in their minivan inside a quonset. Trees all around them and the quonset were crumpled by the wind, yet they survived. Another farmstead lost a house, trailer home, and two silos. A turkey barn containing 12,000 turkeys was also hit, with an estimated 60 percent of the turkeys perishing.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
60,475
Population (ACS)
$273K
Median home value
17
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| May 10, 2011 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 2, 2010 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 9, 2009 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Fergus Falls 129
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Otter Tail County, Minnesota?
1,051 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths and $30.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Otter Tail County?
Hail, with 458 recorded events — 43.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Otter Tail County?
92 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 85 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Otter Tail County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Otter Tail County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Otter Tail County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Otter Tail County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 79 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Otter Tail 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
- Olmsted County 838
- Pennington County 209
- Norman County 344
- Pine County 373
- Nobles County 451
- Pipestone County 334
Cite this page
“Otter Tail County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/otter-tail-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.