Faribault County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 317 recorded events between 1957 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 37.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,684 nationally and #54 in Minnesota.
317
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$14.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Faribault County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Faribault County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 4.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 105 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 61 events fall before 1990 and 256 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $12.0M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Faribault County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 120 | 0 | $140K | 2.75 | 1961–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 104 | 0 | $12.0M | 75 | 1957–2025 |
| Tornado | 42 | 0 | $1.5M | F2 | 1958–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 17 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 14 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2004–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $552K | 0 | 2010–2014 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2012 |
Decade by decade
Faribault County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
41 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 37 touched down inside it and 4 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 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-06-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-06-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-12-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2018-09-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-03-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 9.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-06-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-05-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-06-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-03-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Faribault County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 8, 1984 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| Apr 2, 1967 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| Sep 25, 2005 | Hail | MINNESOTA LAKE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 29, 1987 | Thunderstorm Wind | 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 NWS storm survey concluded that a severe downburst caused significant structural damage in the town of Easton. A local church steeple was toppled, plus a few dozen trees were uprooted. Damage was consistent with winds up to 80-85 mph.
The emergency manager of Faribault County survey damage associated with a tornado that touched down in the southeast part of the county on May 4th. ||The survey indicated that the tornado touchdown approximately 1.7 miles east of Kiester, and tracked east-northeast along County Road 2, and then turned northeast, to 2.4 miles northeast of Kiester before dissipating. The tornado was rated an EF0, with winds of 75 mph. It damaged trees, took down three barns, and destroyed a number of sheds and other outbuildings. In addition, a few windows were blown out, along with several power poles blown down.
Hundreds of trees and some power poles were blown down in a two mile wide swath from southeast of Minnesota Lake to southeast of Wells. Several trees up to 3 feet in diameter were blown down across Highway 22. Sheds and other outbuildings were also damaged. Most of the damage in Wells was in the northern and eastern portions.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
13,914
Population (ACS)
$135K
Median home value
22
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 28, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 7, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 12, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 5, 2018 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 21, 2014 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Faribault County, Minnesota?
317 events are on record between 1957 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $14.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Faribault County?
Hail, with 120 recorded events — 37.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Faribault County?
41 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 37 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Faribault County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Faribault County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Faribault County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Faribault County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 46 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Faribault 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
- Douglas County 374
- Fillmore County 474
- Dodge County 360
- Freeborn County 441
- Dakota County 661
- Goodhue County 412
Cite this page
“Faribault County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/faribault-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.