Jackson County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 346 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 46.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,516 nationally and #48 in Minnesota.
346
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$7.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Jackson County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Jackson County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 4.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 114 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 34 events fall before 1990 and 312 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $4.2M 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 Jackson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 160 | 0 | $250K | 2.75 | 1955–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 105 | 0 | $631K | 85 | 1956–2025 |
| Flood | 36 | 0 | $1.9M | 0 | 2006–2024 |
| Tornado | 21 | 0 | $4.2M | F3 | 1971–2013 |
| Flash Flood | 16 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2004–2018 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2018 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2012 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $20K | 0 | 2001–2001 |
Decade by decade
Jackson County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
23 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971-05-31 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 46.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1976-06-14 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 13.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-08-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-08-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-08-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-08-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-04-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1985-05-30 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 20.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-07-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-05-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Jackson County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 15, 1976 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $250K | |
| May 30, 1985 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $2.5M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Rainfall of 3 to 5 inches (locally 5 to 10 inches upstream) during the first three days of July exacerbated flooding through the Des Moines River basin. A state of emergency was declared in the City of Windom with water breaching Island Park, the golf course, and several homes. Several county, state and local roadways flooded for up to a week, including highway 62 and numerous city streets. Significant amounts of crop and pasture land near the Des Moines River were severely impacted by major flooding as river levels climbed to the second highest crest on record at 4.4 feet above flood stage at Windom (gage site WDOM5) on July 7.
Runoff from occasional precipitation in late March and April maintained significant flooding of agricultural and pasture lands near the Des Moines River. The Des Moines River at Windom (gage site WDOM5) crested at 1.99 feet above flood stage on April 1. Minor flooding continued at the end of the month.
Thunderstorm winds destroyed at least two barns, damaged several smaller farm structures including silos, caused widespread tree damage, and blew down power lines which resulted in power outages. The winds caused crop damage in the area, but the amount of crop damage could not be determined.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
9,933
Population (ACS)
$157K
Median home value
18
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 Jackson County, Minnesota?
346 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $7.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Jackson County?
Hail, with 160 recorded events — 46.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Jackson County?
23 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 21 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Jackson County?
18 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Jackson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Jackson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Jackson County as very low risk, placing it in the 22 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Jackson 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
- Itasca County 620
- Kanabec County 180
- Isanti County 225
- Kandiyohi County 472
- Hubbard County 355
- Kittson County 390
Cite this page
“Jackson County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/jackson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.