43
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
9
Direct injuries
$11.2M
Property damage
Tornado in Blue Earth County, Minnesota: 43 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #537 nationally and #9 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Blue Earth County, Minnesota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Blue Earth County is the 2010s, when 12 of the county's 43 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 Blue Earth County archive, tornado makes up 9.2% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #537 for this hazard and #9 within Minnesota, putting it in the 81.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for tornado in Blue Earth County with 13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-03-29 | EF4 | 73.5 mi | 1,500 yd | Crossed in |
| 1976-06-14 | EF2 | 24.6 mi | 300 yd | Touched down here |
| 2010-06-25 | EF2 | 0.9 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 2010-06-25 | EF2 | 1.9 mi | 40 yd | Touched down here |
| 2003-07-14 | EF2 | 0.5 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 2003-07-14 | EF2 | 1.5 mi | 220 yd | Touched down here |
| 1994-08-07 | EF2 | 5.0 mi | 40 yd | Touched down here |
| 1980-08-18 | EF2 | 2.8 mi | 20 yd | Touched down here |
| 1962-05-18 | EF2 | 42.4 mi | 50 yd | Crossed in |
| 1953-07-25 | EF2 | 0.5 mi | 67 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 15, 1976 | F2 | 1 | 6 | $2.5M | |
| Jul 1, 1994 | St. Clair | F1 | 0 | 1 | $500K |
| Aug 19, 1980 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $2.5M | |
| Jul 26, 1953 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $250K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 13, 2026 | AMBOY | EF1 | $0 |
| Aug 5, 2024 | ST CLAIR | EF1 | $0 |
| Sep 20, 2018 | RAPIDAN | EF0 | $50K |
| Sep 20, 2018 | GARDEN CITY | EF0 | $0 |
| Jul 10, 2017 | JUDSON | EF1 | $0 |
| Jun 14, 2016 | EAGLE LAKE | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 14, 2016 | VERNON CENTER | EF0 | $0 |
| May 8, 2014 | BUTTERNUT | EF0 | $1K |
| Aug 13, 2010 | RAPIDAN | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 26, 2010 | RAPIDAN | EF0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Blue Earth County
- Hail 182
- Thunderstorm Wind 170
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The sixth tornado in a series was the last of five to hit Blue Earth County. This one took direct aim on four farmsteads. Barns, sheds and outbuildings were downed. A roof was taken off a house and numerous trees were snapped. Law Enforcement video showed this to be a multiple vortex tornado.
The fourth tornado in a series formed atop a bluff on the west side of the Le Sueur River valley, struck two homes down in the river valley, then moved back up the bluffs on the east side of the valley, where it snapped many trees and produced minor damage to some more houses, sheds and outbuildings. Videotaped by storm chasers.
The second tornado from a cyclic tornadic supercell touched down on the western edge of a farmstead. It snapped a dozen trees and demolished a barn and sheds. The roof of a house was peeled away and four vehicles were moved.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Blue Earth County, Minnesota?
43 tornado events are recorded in Blue Earth County between 1953 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Blue Earth County?
The strongest tornado on record in Blue Earth County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Blue Earth 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 Blue Earth County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/blue-earth-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.