St. Louis County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 1,335 recorded events between 1953 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 47.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #54 nationally and #1 in Minnesota.
1,335
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
61
Direct injuries
$62.2M
Property damage
The record
What the St. Louis County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, St. Louis County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 18.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 397 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 188 events fall before 1990 and 1,147 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the St. Louis County, Minnesota record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $50.1M 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 St. Louis County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 633 | 0 | $376K | 93 | 1955–2026 |
| Hail | 523 | 0 | $50.1M | 4.5 | 1958–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 89 | 0 | $1.1M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 42 | 3 | $6.6M | F3 | 1953–2024 |
| Lightning | 26 | 1 | $1.6M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 15 | 0 | $2.4M | 0 | 2007–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2020 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2011 |
Decade by decade
St. Louis County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
42 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 39 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966-06-11 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 72.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1969-08-06 | EF3 | 2 | 3 | 17.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-08-06 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 7.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-08-06 | EF3 | 0 | 9 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-08-06 | EF3 | 0 | 20 | 18.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-08-06 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 3.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-09-01 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 54.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1969-08-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-08-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-08-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in St. Louis County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 6, 1969 | Tornado | 2 | 3 | $250K | |
| Aug 18, 2012 | Lightning | DULUTH SKY HARBOR APT | 1 | 4 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 1958 | Tornado | 1 | 2 | $30 | |
| Aug 6, 1969 | Tornado | 0 | 20 | $2.5M | |
| Aug 6, 1969 | Tornado | 0 | 9 | $2.5M | |
| Aug 4, 1989 | Hail | 0 | 3 | $0 | |
| Jun 25, 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | KABETOGAMA | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jun 28, 2015 | Lightning | KIRK | 0 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Streets and yards in the city of Cook were under water. Low spots of Highway 24 were under water with up to 6 to 12 inches of water across roads. This was following the heavy rainfall on the 18th where 3 to 7 inches of rainfall fell across the region. This led to major flooding occurring along the Littlefork River in the city of Cook, where floodwaters inundated downtown, surrounding residences and businesses with several feet of water, closing dozens of roads, and prompting sandbagging efforts and evacuation of parts of the city. Federal and state disasters were declared once the water receded nearly a week later.
Fire crews were dispatched to the Hope City Church at approximately 7:45 PM on the evening of August 28th. One of the steeples of the church had taken a direct strike from a bolt of lightning and exploded, raining debris onto the street below and causing extensive damage to the steeple and the roof of the church that impacted the structural integrity of the building. In addition to the steeple damage, the lighting strike also led to a water main break at the intersection in front of the church. This sent a river of water down North 3rd Avenue East. Fortunately, the lightning strike did not start a fire at the church.
Rainfall amounts of 5 to 7 inches were recorded across the Schmidt Creek basin on the 23rd and 24th with the vast majority of the rainfall occurring on the 24th. This amount of water was significantly more than the creek could handle and issues began near the headwaters. A small culvert carrying the creek under Pioneer Junction Road failed starting with a sinkhole in the road before the fast moving waters completely scoured a channel through the road. Further downstream just after passing under Minnesota Highway 61, the rapidly flowing water encountered another too small culvert that carried the creek under the tracks of the North Shore Scenic Railroad. The water proceeded to scour out this culvert as well exposing a bridge that was originally built by the railroad at this location over 100 years prior. An NSSR train had passed over the bridge about an hour before the culvert failed and noted the developing washout. The train was then stranded in Two Harbors until the washout could be repaired a few days later.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
200,123
Population (ACS)
$221K
Median home value
17
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 14, 2025 | Fire | MUNGER SHAW FIRE | FM |
| Jun 28, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| 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 |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Duluth 104
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in St. Louis County, Minnesota?
1,335 events are on record between 1953 and 2026, causing 4 direct deaths and $62.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in St. Louis County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 633 recorded events — 47.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed St. Louis County?
42 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 39 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover St. Louis County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include St. Louis County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is St. Louis County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates St. Louis County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 92 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the St. Louis 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
- Roseau County 452
- Scott County 495
- Rock County 353
- Sherburne County 355
- Rice County 405
- Sibley County 319
Cite this page
“St. Louis County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/st-louis-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.