Watonwan County, Minnesota severe weather history spans 223 recorded events between 1962 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 44.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,297 nationally and #77 in Minnesota.
223
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$10.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Watonwan County, Minnesota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Watonwan County, Minnesota severe weather history averages 3.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 58 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 39 events fall before 1990 and 184 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $6.2M 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 Watonwan County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 100 | 0 | $21K | 3 | 1962–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 71 | 0 | $795K | 70 | 1978–2025 |
| Tornado | 24 | 0 | $6.2M | F4 | 1962–2026 |
| Flash Flood | 10 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2024 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $3.9M | 0 | 2010–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2004–2016 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2024 |
Decade by decade
Watonwan County, Minnesota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
22 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 18 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-08-01 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-08-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-03-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1963-07-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-05-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 42.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-08-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-08-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-08-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-06-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 15.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-06-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 9.2 mi | Crossed in |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Numerous roads were closed due to excessive rainfall that fell on September 22nd and 23th. The major areal flooding didn't recede until late Saturday when most of the small streams and creeks had crested and only mainstem rivers remained flooded.
Initial damage occurred at farmstead just east of the Watonwan/Cottonwood line. Damage included the partial removal of roofs off two large sheds, along with scattered downed trees. The tornado then moved across corn and bean fields. Another farmstead was hit just southwest of the intersection of County Roads 10 and 2. This was the location of the F3 damage. A house was leveled, a 60 foot concrete base silo was toppled and rolled. Virtually all barns, sheds and outbuildings were completely destroyed.
St. James regional airport measured a wind gust of 78 mph. A storm survey team from the NWS determined the damage from surrounding areas was due to a downburst, with a classic fanning out pattern. Part of a roof from a turkey barn was blown off, several vehicles were blown off Highway 60, and hundreds of trees were broken or uprooted southwest to southeast of the airport. There was also significant damage to the airport's hanger.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
11,205
Population (ACS)
$162K
Median home value
13
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 Watonwan County, Minnesota?
223 events are on record between 1962 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $10.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Watonwan County?
Hail, with 100 recorded events — 44.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Watonwan County?
22 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 18 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Watonwan County?
13 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Watonwan County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Watonwan County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Watonwan County as very low risk, placing it in the 24 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Watonwan 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
- Washington County 416
- Wilkin County 364
- Waseca County 314
- Winona County 572
- Wadena County 322
- Wright County 681
Cite this page
“Watonwan County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/watonwan-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.