Rock County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 353 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 38.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,474 nationally and #47 in Minnesota.
353
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
7
Direct injuries
$9.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Rock County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Rock County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 5.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 110 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 31 events fall before 1990 and 322 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 $3.1M 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 Rock County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 137 | 0 | $0 | 4 | 1956–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 126 | 0 | $3.1M | 78 | 1957–2025 |
| Flood | 47 | 0 | $2.8M | 0 | 2006–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 18 | 0 | $3.0M | 0 | 2001–2024 |
| Tornado | 14 | 0 | $538K | F2 | 1956–2022 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2012–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2025 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Rock County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
15 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 14 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993-05-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1969-06-25 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 29.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-06-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-05-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-05-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-06-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-07-03 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-05-30 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-06-05 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-06-22 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Rock County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 25, 1969 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $250K | |
| Jul 3, 1957 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
In the midst of very heavy rain, estimated as much as 7 inches, a dam partially gave way on Blue Mounds Creek at Blue Mounds Lake in Blue Mounds State Park. The dam break drained the lake and flooded roads downstream to the Rock River.
Thunderstorm winds blew down part of the roof of a large store, destroyed a hangar, and damaged a small plane inside. The winds also blew down signs including a large gas station sign, blew down the roof of a hardware store shed onto a pickup parked inside and destroyed several storage sheds and other small structures. Parts of roofs of several homes and garages were blown off or damaged. The winds caused widespread tree damage, with falling trees or debris damaging several homes and vehicles, and debris blocking several roads. Power lines and poles were blown down, causing power outages, and several light poles were also blown down. The winds also caused severe crop damage in the area, but the amount of crop damage could not be determined.
Rainfall amounts across Rock County from June 20-22 ranged from 2 to 7 inches. Widespread overland flooding ensued with additional moderate to major flooding along the Rock River and Split Rock Creek.||During peak flooding, numerous township, county, and state roads were under water and closed. A No Travel Advisory was issued by law enforcement. Interstate 90 was under water and briefly closed between Luverne and Worthington where a swift water rescue was conducted near mile marker 17. U.S. Highway 75 was also closed from Luverne to the Iowa state line. ||In Luverne, numerous roads were reported under water and flood waters from the Rock River inundated Redbird Field and the Luverne City Park. Preliminary damage assessments estimate loss to public infrastructure to be at least 2 million dollars.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
9,621
Population (ACS)
$224K
Median home value
16
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 28, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| 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 |
| 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Jasper 116
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Rock County, Minnesota?
353 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $9.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Rock County?
Hail, with 137 recorded events — 38.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Rock County?
15 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 14 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Rock County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Rock County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Rock County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Rock County as very low risk, placing it in the 9 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Rock 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
- Rice County 405
- Roseau County 452
- Renville County 427
- St. Louis County 1,335
- Redwood County 378
- Scott County 495
Cite this page
“Rock County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/rock-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.