Olmsted County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 838 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 44.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #261 nationally and #6 in Minnesota.
838
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
48
Direct injuries
$114.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Olmsted County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Olmsted County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 11.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 246 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 173 events fall before 1990 and 665 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Olmsted County, Minnesota record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $52.4M 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 Olmsted County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 370 | 0 | $7.3M | 3 | 1959–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 315 | 1 | $4.3M | 85 | 1956–2025 |
| Tornado | 40 | 1 | $44.7M | F4 | 1953–2026 |
| Flood | 37 | 0 | $3.7M | 0 | 1997–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 27 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2019 |
| Lightning | 19 | 0 | $2.0M | 0 | 1999–2020 |
| Flash Flood | 17 | 0 | $52.4M | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 13 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2020 |
Decade by decade
Olmsted County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
37 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 37 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962-09-16 | EF4 | 0 | 34 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-05-17 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 26.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-05-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-07-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-04-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-04-13 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-09-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-05-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-06-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-07-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Olmsted County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 1953 | Tornado | 1 | 6 | $2.5M | |
| Dec 16, 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | ROCHESTER | 1 | 0 | $10K |
| Sep 16, 1962 | Tornado | 0 | 34 | $250K | |
| Apr 17, 2026 | Tornado | OSLO | 0 | 3 | $8.2M |
| Apr 29, 1981 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 18, 1974 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Sep 26, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy thunderstorm rains caused widespread flash flooding in Rochester and surrounding areas across the county. Extensive damage was caused to sewer systems, water wells, roadways, parks, and flood control reservoirs.||Highway 14 was closed east of Rochester due to wash outs and flash flooding. A mudslide hit the Ronald McDonald house in Rochester with evacuations around 6 a.m. Red Cross shelters were set up. Flooding reports began around 915 p.m. Saturday August 18.
Numerous streets were flooded. Sand bagging was needed with some street closures. Several nearby bridges were badly damaged and railroad tracks were bent out of place. Highway 14 was closed at Highway 42 due to flooding and residents of the Eyota trailer park were evacuated.||In Eyota specifically, 16 of 20 business had damage, 600 of 716 homes had at least water damage, and in most basements there was 18 inches to 5 feet of water.
This strong EF-2 tornado began on the northeast side of Stewartville resulting in damage to several homes. The tornado then moved northeast through rural areas of Olmsted County while being highly visible on MNDOT cameras and from Rochester. This tornado eventually crossed I-90, hitting a semi-trailer and injuring the occupant, before moving northwest of Simpson. A farmstead near Simpson took a direct hit from the tornado where a single-wide manufactured home was rolled and farm outbuildings were destroyed. The tornado continued northeast into a neighborhood along Marion Road where several homes were rendered uninhabitable due to a collapse of their exterior walls and roof. Numerous other residences sustained window, roof, and outbuilding damage as well. The tornado continued through this neighborhood before dissipating along Timberidge Court between Rochester and Marion. Two more individuals were also injured in this area while sheltering in their home from the tornado.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
164,498
Population (ACS)
$332K
Median home value
15
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Oct 13, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 2, 2010 | Tornado | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 23, 2007 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Rochester 279
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Olmsted County, Minnesota?
838 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $114.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Olmsted County?
Hail, with 370 recorded events — 44.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Olmsted County?
37 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 Olmsted County?
15 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Olmsted County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Olmsted County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Olmsted County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 82 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Olmsted 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
- Norman County 344
- Otter Tail County 1,051
- Nobles County 451
- Pennington County 209
- Nicollet County 269
- Pine County 373
Cite this page
“Olmsted County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/olmsted-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.