44
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$30.6M
Property damage
Tornado in Nobles County, Minnesota: 44 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F5. That places the county #513 nationally and #7 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Nobles County, Minnesota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Nobles County is the 2000s, when 12 of the county's 44 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Nobles County archive, tornado makes up 9.8% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #513 for this hazard and #7 within Minnesota, putting it in the 82.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for tornado in Nobles County with 10 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992-06-16 | EF5 | 16.0 mi | 280 yd | Touched down here |
| 1971-05-31 | EF3 | 46.5 mi | 100 yd | Crossed in |
| 1986-04-26 | EF2 | 18.5 mi | 120 yd | Crossed in |
| 2000-07-25 | EF2 | 3.0 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1998-03-29 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 80 yd | Touched down here |
| 1998-03-29 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 80 yd | Touched down here |
| 1977-05-27 | EF2 | 10.3 mi | 60 yd | Crossed in |
| 1956-05-10 | EF2 | 6.5 mi | 880 yd | Touched down here |
| 2017-08-18 | EF1 | 1.3 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2017-08-18 | EF1 | 1.6 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 1986 | F2 | 0 | 2 | $2.5M |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2025 | (OTG)WORTHINGTON ARP | EFU | $0 |
| Sep 23, 2023 | LEOTA | EFU | $0 |
| Aug 14, 2023 | KINBRAE | EF0 | $10K |
| May 30, 2022 | ELLSWORTH | EF0 | $0 |
| Aug 14, 2020 | READING | EF0 | $10K |
| Aug 18, 2019 | READING | EF0 | $10K |
| Aug 19, 2017 | BIGELOW | EF1 | $0 |
| Aug 19, 2017 | RUSHMORE | EF1 | $0 |
| Aug 19, 2017 | RUSHMORE | EF1 | $500K |
| May 4, 2012 | ROUND LAKE | EF0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Nobles County
- Hail 217
- Thunderstorm Wind 141
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado damaged buildings, vehicles, and trees on a farm. The tornado destroyed the west side of the house, blew three grain bins away and wrapped them around trees. The tornado also blew the top of a barn off, killing at least 4 calves inside.
A brief tornado spun up a mile and a half northwest of Reading, uprooting a tree and taking down several other branches. While most of the damage along the path toward the east-northeast was to trees and crops, one house had some minor damage with removal of a section of roofing material. The average path width was 40 yards.
A brief touchdown occurred in a corn field, with an observed twisting to the crops. The tornado travelled a very short distance to the northeast and lifted as it moved near a small hog house. The hog house was slightly displaced from its foundation. Property damage costs are rough estimates.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Nobles County, Minnesota?
44 tornado events are recorded in Nobles County between 1955 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Nobles County?
The strongest tornado on record in Nobles County measured F5.
Where does the tornado data for Nobles County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Tornado in Nobles County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/nobles-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.