308
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$3.5M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Stearns County, Minnesota: 308 recorded events between 1965 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 78. That places the county #428 nationally and #6 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Stearns County, Minnesota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Stearns County is the 2010s, when 88 of the county's 308 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 Stearns County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 35.6% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #428 for this hazard and #6 within Minnesota, putting it in the 86.5 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Stearns County with 104 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.
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 29, 2025 | COLD SPG | 56 | $0 |
| Jul 29, 2025 | PAYNESVILLE ARPT | 56 | $0 |
| Jul 29, 2025 | BROOTEN | 56 | $0 |
| Jul 15, 2025 | MAINE PRAIRIE | 50 | $0 |
| Jun 20, 2025 | SAUK CENTRE ARPT | 57 | $0 |
| Jun 16, 2025 | ST CLOUD | 61 | $0 |
| Jun 16, 2025 | WAITE PARK | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 16, 2025 | WAITE PARK | 56 | $0 |
| Jun 16, 2025 | WAITE PARK | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 16, 2025 | SARTELL | 50 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Stearns County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Hundreds of trees, possibly over one thousand, were blown down across a broadening swath from northeast of Elrosa to Melrose. Numerous corn fields and other crops were also damaged. A storm survey determined this was due to downburst winds associated with a dissipating tornado and then downstream from the dissipated tornado. A building that was under construction was completely blown apart, and a commercial building lost part of its roof. Other sheds and outbuildings at farms also had some damage.
A large shed lost part of its roof, a grain bin was dented in, other outbuildings were damaged, a few dozen trees were broken, and a few cornfields were damaged. This was all southeast of a tornado that tracked from west to northeast of Elrosa, and was deemed to be due to rear flank downdraft winds.
The Sauk Centre City Officials noted that power was lost in the town at 1908 CST, which is when emergency sirens lost power. Several residents noted that the strong straight line winds lasted for 10 minutes. ||Damage occurred to approximately 200 trees in Sauk Centre which were either uprooted or snapped off with the line of storms. Tree damage was noted from Interstate 94, in the south, to the Sauk Centre Country Club to the north. ||The survey noted that all of the trees were laying toward the east, which was indicative of damage caused by straight line winds. Dozens of structures were also damaged in the town, though almost all of the structural damage was caused by falling trees. There was a toppled truck trailer, just over a dozen downed utility poles, and several snapped road signs.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Stearns County, Minnesota?
308 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Stearns County between 1965 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Stearns County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Stearns County measured 78.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Stearns 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
“Thunderstorm Wind in Stearns County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/stearns-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.