128
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$2.8M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Cottonwood County, Minnesota: 128 recorded events between 1973 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 78. That places the county #1,820 nationally and #48 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Cottonwood County, Minnesota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Cottonwood County is the 2020s, when 40 of the county's 128 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 Cottonwood County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 35.5% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #1,820 for this hazard and #48 within Minnesota, putting it in the 42.2 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Cottonwood County with 39 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.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 14, 1985 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4, 2025 | WINDOM | 52 | $0 |
| Aug 11, 2023 | WESTBROOK | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 3, 2023 | WINDOM MUNI ARPT | 61 | $0 |
| Jul 5, 2022 | MOUNTAIN LAKE | 70 | $0 |
| Jun 13, 2022 | WINDOM MUNI ARPT | 57 | $0 |
| May 31, 2022 | MOUNTAIN LAKE | 70 | $0 |
| May 30, 2022 | JEFFERS | 52 | $0 |
| May 30, 2022 | WINDOM | 56 | $0 |
| May 13, 2022 | JEFFERS | 64 | $0 |
| May 12, 2022 | JEFFERS | 54 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Cottonwood County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage, including numerous trees blown down. Falling trees damaged roofs of houses and destroyed the topper of a pickup truck, and severely damaged another pickup. Power lines were blown down, resulting in power outages. A large storage shed was destroyed. The roof of a house was blown off, and other roof damage to structures was reported.
Thunderstorm winds blew the roof off a barn and destroyed a machine shed. Two cars, a combine, and a field sprayer in the machine shed were damaged. The winds destroyed a barn on another farm, damaging a tractor and a van inside. The winds blew over a sign anchored in cement, with two tractors being damaged when the sign fell on them. Widespread tree and power line damage was also reported.
Thunderstorm winds blew the roof and wall of a large lumber yard building onto a nearby bowling alley. Widespread tree damage included large trees blown down, about a dozen of which fell onto houses and caused further damage. The winds caused roof damage to other structures and blew down power lines.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Cottonwood County, Minnesota?
128 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Cottonwood County between 1973 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Cottonwood County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Cottonwood County measured 78.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Cottonwood 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 Cottonwood County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/cottonwood-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.