Cook County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 86 recorded events between 1983 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 38.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,934 nationally and #87 in Minnesota.
86
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$1.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Cook County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Cook County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 2.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 33 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 4 events fall before 1990 and 82 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Cook County, Minnesota record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $1.1M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Cook County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 33 | 1 | $0 | 70 | 1983–2025 |
| Hail | 25 | 0 | $0 | 3 | 1984–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 17 | 0 | $1.1M | 0 | 1999–2025 |
| Tornado | 4 | 0 | $0 | F0 | 1991–2021 |
| Lightning | 3 | 1 | $20K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2022 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2011 |
Decade by decade
Cook County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
3 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 3 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-10-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-06-18 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-06-09 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Cook County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 20, 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | MARAIS | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 7, 1996 | Lightning | GRAND MARAIS | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 20, 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | MARAIS | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A large tree trunk was snapped several feet above ground level and the tree landed on a man and his son who were camping on Duncan Lake. The tree killed the father, Craig Walz, the brother of Minnesota Representative Tim Walz, as well as seriously injuring Craig's son. The son was airlifted to a hospital in Duluth.
Thunderstorm heavy rain resulted in flash flooding along and near the Cascade River and Highway 61 and near Cascade State Park. Water was flowing over Highway 61 and mile marker 104. Part of the highway was washed out. Other county roads in the area were damaged. There was also some cabin and road/driveway damage at Cascade Lodge that totaled about $50,000.
A lightning strike near the Gunflint Trail and Soderberg Lane damaged about 2,000 feet of underground fiber optic cable causing a loss of phone and internet service to customers from that point to the end of the Gunflint Trail. Service was restored after about 14 hours.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
5,635
Population (ACS)
$336K
Median home value
10
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 28, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 13, 2022 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 7, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jul 6, 2012 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 9, 2009 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Cook County, Minnesota?
86 events are on record between 1983 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $1.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Cook County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 33 recorded events — 38.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Cook County?
3 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 3 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Cook County?
10 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Cook County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Cook County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Cook County as very low risk, placing it in the 11 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Cook 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
- Clearwater County 244
- Cottonwood County 361
- Clay County 504
- Crow Wing County 609
- Chisago County 214
- Dakota County 661
Cite this page
“Cook County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/cook-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.