Douglas County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 374 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 45.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,362 nationally and #38 in Minnesota.
374
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
13
Direct injuries
$3.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Douglas County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Douglas County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 5.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 107 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 86 events fall before 1990 and 288 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Douglas County, Minnesota record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $3.0M 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 Douglas County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 169 | 1 | $394K | 102 | 1955–2025 |
| Hail | 158 | 0 | $0 | 4.25 | 1955–2025 |
| Tornado | 26 | 0 | $3.0M | F2 | 1961–2022 |
| Funnel Cloud | 11 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 6 | 0 | $325K | 0 | 2001–2011 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2013 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2005 |
Decade by decade
Douglas County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
29 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 24 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-06-17 | EF4 | 1 | 5 | 39.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1987-08-15 | EF2 | 1 | 8 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-05-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 19.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1996-10-26 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 9.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-06-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1970-07-18 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-05-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 24.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-07-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2022-05-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Douglas County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | HOLMES CITY | 1 | 1 | $25K |
| Jul 19, 1970 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $2.5M | |
| Oct 26, 1996 | Tornado | ALEXANDRIA | 0 | 4 | $0 |
| Oct 26, 1996 | Tornado | GARFIELD | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 15, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | HOLMES CITY | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across the southern part of Douglas County from Kensington to Garfield, and Holmes City. In addition, straight line winds damaging two roofs of two commercial buildings in the southern part of the county.
Local law enforcement officials confirmed that a tornado briefly touched down northeast of Farwell, Minnesota. Based on damage of a 30-40 foot pole barn, and minor damage to a second barn, the tornado was rated an EF0 with top winds of 75 mph.
Two waves of very heavy rainfall occurred between 6 and 8 am, and started causing significant flooding around the communities of Carlos, Alexandria, and Osakis, Minnesota. Nearly 7 inches of rain fell in a short period of time near Osakis, where local officials reported several inches of water over the roadways. A few areas received basement flooding and a local high school reported flooding in classrooms.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
39,575
Population (ACS)
$321K
Median home value
14
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 9, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 8, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 7, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jul 25, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, 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 Douglas County, Minnesota?
374 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $3.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Douglas County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 169 recorded events — 45.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Douglas County?
29 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 24 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Douglas County?
14 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Douglas County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Douglas County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Douglas County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 44 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Douglas 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
- Dodge County 360
- Faribault County 317
- Dakota County 661
- Fillmore County 474
- Crow Wing County 609
- Freeborn County 441
Cite this page
“Douglas County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/douglas-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.