111
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$1.3M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Wadena County, Minnesota: 111 recorded events between 1962 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 87. That places the county #2,069 nationally and #54 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Wadena County, Minnesota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Wadena County is the 2000s, when 36 of the county's 111 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Wadena County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 34.5% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #2,069 for this hazard and #54 within Minnesota, putting it in the 34.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Wadena County with 54 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26, 1998 | VERNDALE | 0 | 0 | 3 | $500K |
| Jun 20, 2005 | WADENA | 66 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 2025 | WADENA | 52 | $0 |
| May 15, 2025 | WADENA | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 21, 2022 | VERNDALE | 72 | $0 |
| May 30, 2022 | STAPLES | 65 | $0 |
| May 30, 2022 | MENAHGA | 65 | $0 |
| May 30, 2022 | WADENA | 60 | $0 |
| May 30, 2022 | WADENA | 60 | $0 |
| May 30, 2022 | WADENA | 60 | $0 |
| May 13, 2022 | BLUE GRASS | 61 | $0 |
| May 13, 2022 | BLUE GRASS | 61 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Wadena County
- Hail 162
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A trailer home rolled over in the wind, injuring two of the three occupants inside. Nearby, a man was injured when a 2×4 was blown through his kitchen window, hitting him in the side. Over 10 barns in the area were severely damaged.
A woman and her three children escaped without injury when their house was hit with the strong winds. Several windows shattered and part of the roof blew off. A barn, silo, machine shed, and several trees were also destroyed.
A peak wind of 94 mph was measured at a MN RWIS station. Widespread downburst wind damage was noted across Wadena and Aldrich Townships, with numerous large tree branches and limbs torn down, roofing material torn up, and spruce trees uprooted.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Wadena County, Minnesota?
111 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Wadena County between 1962 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Wadena County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Wadena County measured 87.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Wadena County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Wadena County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/wadena-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.