Rice County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 405 recorded events between 1958 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 44.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,236 nationally and #34 in Minnesota.
405
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$100.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Rice County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Rice County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 6.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 135 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 56 events fall before 1990 and 349 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is hail, with $52.8M 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 Rice County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 179 | 0 | $52.8M | 3.5 | 1958–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 141 | 0 | $10.4M | 96 | 1962–2025 |
| Tornado | 40 | 0 | $32.1M | F3 | 1959–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 18 | 0 | $2.2M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $2.5M | 0 | 2010–2020 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $25K | 0 | 1997–2017 |
Decade by decade
Rice County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
47 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 42 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987-07-27 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 30.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1982-05-17 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 46.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2018-09-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-09-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-05-09 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-03-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1995-09-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-05-15 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 15.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-04-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-05-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Rice County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 1968 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K | |
| May 10, 2001 | Tornado | NORTHFIELD | 0 | 1 | $9.0M |
| May 28, 1991 | 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
Hundreds and possibly thousands of vehicles damaged; many had to be totaled. Significant damage to many buildings and houses. Two car dealerships lost their entire inventory. Buildings on the St. Olaf college campus suffered roof and window damage. Approximately 17,000 acres of crops destroyed in Rice County. Unofficial reports of softball size hail. Damage total includes all storm reports from August 24 in Rice County.
There was significant wind damage from a downburst that expanded in width as it traveled northeast. By the time it stopped producing damage, it was 8 wide on either side of Nerstrand. The damage began east-southeast of Morristown (near the Rice, Waseca, and Steele County line), moved across the south side of Faribault, and northeast to near the Nerstrand Big Woods State Park and then Nerstrand. The damage path became more isolated as it exited eastern Rice county.||Numerous trees, power lines, roofs, and pole barns were damaged along this path. In addition, nine semi trucks were blown over on I-35 south of Faribault due to straight-line winds. Just over $1 Million dollars in damages were to public infrastructure, with remaining damages to houses, farms, and vehicles.
NWS damage survey rated the tornado an F2. Tornado touched down briefly in downtown Northfield, flipping over a semi trailer truck and lifting the roof off of one business. Three-fourths mile later, it touched down again on the east side of Northfield, and then remained on the ground for 11 miles. After being in Rice County for 5 miles, it crossed Highway 19 into Dakota County and then dissipated in Goodhue County 4 miles west of Cannon Falls, for a total of 12 miles. Numerous rear flank downdraft gusts estimated at 90 mph caused damage alongside the southern periphery of tornado track. One man sustained minor injuries when he was blown from a tractor, but did not require hospitalization. A total of 8 homes received major damage, 22 more had minor damage, and a turkey processing plant was destroyed.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
67,917
Population (ACS)
$320K
Median home value
14
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 |
| Nov 2, 2016 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 21, 2014 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
| Jul 6, 2012 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Rice County, Minnesota?
405 events are on record between 1958 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $100.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Rice County?
Hail, with 179 recorded events — 44.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Rice County?
47 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 42 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Rice County?
14 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Rice County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Rice County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Rice County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 75 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Rice 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
- Renville County 427
- Rock County 353
- Redwood County 378
- Roseau County 452
- Red Lake County 216
- St. Louis County 1,335
Cite this page
“Rice County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/rice-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.