Murray County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 296 recorded events between 1963 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 40.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,803 nationally and #59 in Minnesota.
296
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
41
Direct injuries
$60.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Murray County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Murray County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 4.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 84 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 23 events fall before 1990 and 273 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Murray County, Minnesota record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $56.1M 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 Murray County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 121 | 0 | $100K | 6 | 1963–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 97 | 0 | $580K | 78 | 1974–2024 |
| Tornado | 34 | 1 | $56.1M | F5 | 1968–2023 |
| Flood | 23 | 0 | $3.4M | 0 | 2011–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 15 | 0 | $525K | 0 | 2004–2021 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $9K | 0 | 1998–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $20K | 0 | 1996–2016 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2021–2021 |
Decade by decade
Murray County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
34 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 31 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968-06-13 | EF5 | 9 | 150 | 9.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-16 | EF5 | 1 | 35 | 16.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1998-03-29 | EF4 | 1 | 19 | 73.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-16 | EF4 | 0 | 3 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-16 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1985-04-20 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 8.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1992-06-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-05-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Murray County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 16, 1992 | Tornado | 1 | 35 | $25.0M | |
| Jun 16, 1992 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $25.0M | |
| Apr 21, 1985 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 11, 2008 | Tornado | LIME CREEK | 0 | 1 | $100K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Rainfall amounts across Murray County from June 20-22 ranged from 4 to 8 inches. This rainfall resulted in overland flooding and major flooding along the West Fork Des Moines River. ||County-wide, 132 homes were damaged, three of which were declared destroyed. Many homes in the cities of Slayton and Fulda reported wastewater backup in their basements. Numerous roads and culverts were damaged with State Highway 30 closed at one point between Dovray and Westbrook. Preliminary assessments estimate loss to private property to be near 1 million dollars and 1.3 million dollars to public infrastructure. ||The majority of overland flooding subsided by June 23, but river flooding continued through the end of the month. For additional information on river flooding, please see other flood entries for Murray County.
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 near Avoca (gage site AVOM5) crested twice at moderate flood stage during the month. The first crest was at 2.14 feet above flood stage on April 1. The second crest occurred on April 19 at 2.53 feet above flood stage. Moderate flooding continued at the end of the month.
Rainfall of 2 to 6 inches over the northern and eastern parts of Murray County flooded numerous roads, and washed out some township roads. Residents in the Lake Shetek area were especially affected, with high water flooding roads to many homes. At least 50 thousand acres of cropland were flooded, with some crops washed away completely. The amount of crop damage was not known, due to the uncertainties in both crop recovery and in the ability to replant. Other lowlands were flooded, including a golf course in Slayton.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
8,097
Population (ACS)
$185K
Median home value
17
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 Murray County, Minnesota?
296 events are on record between 1963 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $60.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Murray County?
Hail, with 121 recorded events — 40.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Murray County?
34 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 Murray County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Murray County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Murray County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Murray County as very low risk, placing it in the 20 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Murray 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
- Mower County 501
- Nicollet County 269
- Morrison County 376
- Nobles County 451
- Mille Lacs County 251
- Norman County 344
Cite this page
“Murray County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/murray-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.