Pennington County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 209 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 48.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,388 nationally and #82 in Minnesota.
209
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$2.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Pennington County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Pennington County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 3.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 79 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 31 events fall before 1990 and 178 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $2.6M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Pennington County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 102 | 0 | $0 | 2.75 | 1956–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 73 | 0 | $86K | 105 | 1956–2025 |
| Tornado | 11 | 0 | $2.6M | F2 | 1968–2022 |
| Flash Flood | 10 | 0 | $292K | 0 | 2000–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2022 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2006–2009 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $500 | 0 | 2023–2023 |
Decade by decade
Pennington County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
11 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983-08-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-07-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2020-08-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 22.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-08-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-06-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-06-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1968-08-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-06-12 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-06-24 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-07-18 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Streets, low spots, rivers, and basements were flooded by 4 to 9 inches of rain over a short duration of time. Cars that got stuck in the flood waters were abandoned where they stalled. Farm fields and access roads were also flooded.
A brief touchdown was noted in an open field just north of MN Hwy 1. A dust swirl was evident but no damage was apparent. A nearby MNDOT RWIS station registered a peak wind of 71 mph. Maximum width estimated to 40 yards.
Tornado tracked for less than a minute through an open field. The ground based dust swirl was filmed or photographed by at least three spotters. A persistent and low wall cloud structure was tracked into the area and was above the swirl, with only a brief condensation cone apparent. First reported via social media and through broadcast media sources. Time estimated based on radar, along with photo and video records. Peak winds estimated to 70 mph, with a maximum width to 75 yards.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
13,791
Population (ACS)
$196K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 13, 2022 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, 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 |
| Apr 19, 2010 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 9, 2009 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Pennington County, Minnesota?
209 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $2.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Pennington County?
Hail, with 102 recorded events — 48.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Pennington County?
11 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 9 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Pennington County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Pennington County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Pennington County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Pennington County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 47 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Pennington 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
- Otter Tail County 1,051
- Pine County 373
- Olmsted County 838
- Pipestone County 334
- Norman County 344
- Polk County 914
Cite this page
“Pennington County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/pennington-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.