Kittson County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 390 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 45.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,294 nationally and #35 in Minnesota.
390
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
9
Direct injuries
$7.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Kittson County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Kittson County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 5.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 158 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 44 events fall before 1990 and 346 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $4.5M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Kittson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 178 | 0 | $0 | 4.5 | 1957–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 131 | 0 | $967K | 105 | 1959–2024 |
| Tornado | 33 | 0 | $4.5M | F3 | 1976–2022 |
| Flood | 22 | 0 | $1.7M | 0 | 2000–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 16 | 0 | $602K | 0 | 2001–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 10 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2020 |
Decade by decade
Kittson County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
36 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 34 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-05-19 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-09-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-07-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-07-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-07-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-07-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-06-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-05-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-07-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2006-07-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Kittson County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 10, 1995 | Tornado | Hallock | 0 | 8 | $3.0M |
| Aug 27, 1990 | Hail | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Several funnel clouds were sighted in the same area, northwest of Hallock. After several brief touchdowns, one tornado remained on the ground one mile northwest of Hallock and traveled south to southeast to three miles east of the town of Kennedy. The tornado collapsed the roof of the grandstands at the Kittson County Fairgrounds, where 800 people had been several minutes earlier. Many homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed in Hallock. Path length, width and property damage were estimated.
This tornado snapped or uprooted numerous trees along its path. Several farm outbuildings, steel grain bins, and a steel pole shed were completely destroyed. One farmstead sized wooden grain elevator was completely dismantled and sections of it were thrown dozens of yards. Multiple power poles were snapped at different locations. Peak winds were estimated at 130 mph.
The county highway department building was severely damaged. Equipment in the building was also damaged. Peak winds were estimated at 95 mph based on extreme structural damage and related tree damage. Trees and power lines were down all around Karlstad.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
4,084
Population (ACS)
$135K
Median home value
32
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 19, 2023 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 13, 2022 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 7, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Apr 7, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Kittson County, Minnesota?
390 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $7.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Kittson County?
Hail, with 178 recorded events — 45.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Kittson County?
36 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 34 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Kittson County?
32 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Kittson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Kittson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Kittson County as very low risk, placing it in the 5 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Kittson 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
- Kandiyohi County 472
- Koochiching County 269
- Kanabec County 180
- Lac qui Parle County 288
- Jackson County 346
- Lake County 161
Cite this page
“Kittson County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/kittson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.