Grant County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 309 recorded events between 1952 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 41.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,732 nationally and #57 in Minnesota.
309
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$10.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Grant County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Grant County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 4.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 101 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 32 events fall before 1990 and 277 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $8.6M 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 Grant County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 129 | 0 | $5K | 3.75 | 1958–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 109 | 0 | $1.8M | 80 | 1966–2025 |
| Tornado | 32 | 0 | $8.6M | F3 | 1952–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 16 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2020 |
| Flash Flood | 10 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2011 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $80K | 0 | 1999–2019 |
| Lightning | 4 | 0 | $106K | 0 | 1998–2007 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2011 |
Decade by decade
Grant County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
33 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 31 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-07-08 | EF4 | 1 | 2 | 8.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-05-10 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2022-05-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-05-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 11.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-08-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 13.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-05-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-08-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-07-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-08-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 21.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Grant County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 23, 2003 | Lightning | BARRETT | 0 | 1 | $10K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This tornado was wrapped in damaging downburst winds and rain as it rapidly tracked northeast for roughly 6 miles to around 3 SE of Elbow Lake by 419 pm CDT. Numerous wooden single and double X-Braced power poles were snapped, including a nearly 2-mile stretch of double pole structures along 240th street, as a broader downburst wind pattern developed. Numerous trees of all kinds were snapped or uprooted. Several farm buildings and grain bins were destroyed. Max winds to 120 mph, Max width to 350 yards.
This tornado was wrapped in damaging downburst winds and rain as it rapidly tracked to the northeast for about 11 miles, ending around 4.3 miles NNE of Elbow Lake by 424 pm CDT. Numerous ash, spruce, cottonwood, and willow trees were snapped or uprooted. Numerous wooden power poles were snapped Numerous farm outbuilding and steel grain bins were destroyed, with roofing and wall panels carried downwind for a mile or more. Max winds were 115 mph, with a max width to 400 yards.
Numerous large ash and spruce trees snapped or uprooted at the Tipsinah Mounds Campground. Damaging downburst winds impacted much of Erdahl Township with wind gusts from 70 to 90 mph. Two storage building were blown down near the Tipsinah Mounds Golf Course. Report augmented by NWS damage survey. Time estimated based on radar.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
6,127
Population (ACS)
$191K
Median home value
19
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 19, 2023 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| 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 |
| Jun 12, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Grant County, Minnesota?
309 events are on record between 1952 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $10.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Grant County?
Hail, with 129 recorded events — 41.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Grant County?
33 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 31 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Grant County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Grant County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Grant County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Grant County as very low risk, placing it in the 3 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Grant 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
- Goodhue County 412
- Hennepin County 1,242
- Freeborn County 441
- Houston County 258
- Fillmore County 474
- Hubbard County 355
Cite this page
“Grant County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/grant-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.