NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Ada, MN
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Ada, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 66 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 66
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for Ada
The highest rating among the 66 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2 or EF2, reached 7 times; the most recent, on June 8, 2019, came within 19 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on July 5, 1978, killed 4 people. Of the 66, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 41 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 29. The most recent tornado was on July 7, 2025. Of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site, 71% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Ada. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 36 times since 1978, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 95% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Ada.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Ada
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s18
- 2000s10
- 1990s7
- 1980s3
- 1970s7
- 1960s4
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 5, 1978 | F2 | 8 mi | 57.5 mi | 4 / 44 |
| Jun 8, 2019 | EF2 | 19 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 2017 | EF2 | 7 mi | 12.81 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 2017 | EF2 | 11 mi | 11.64 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 2017 | EF2 | 23 mi | 22 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 28, 2016 | EF2 | 12 mi | 9.57 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 29, 1953 | F2 | 19 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 31, 1975 | F1 | 20 mi | 4.3 mi | 2 / 0 |
| Jul 7, 2025 | EF1 | 10 mi | 4.72 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 2025 | EF1 | 21 mi | 12.17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 2022 | EF1 | 17 mi | 4.87 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 26, 2018 | EF1 | 19 mi | 20.94 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 66, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Ada
The Storm Prediction Center has 36 hail reports within 10 miles of Ada since 1978, made on 27 separate days. Of these, 21 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on July 27, 1999. The most recent report is from August 13, 2020. July has the most reports, 11.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Ada
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Ada, MN, 2 miles south of Ada at 907 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 57°F; January is the coolest, at 16°F and -4°F. June is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 25.1 inches over 52 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 8 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 180 nights a year. That 25.1 inches is more than at 12 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (10%). Hillsboro, ND, 25 miles west, has its own station (Hillsboro 3 N, ND): 22.5 inches a year, 2.6 less than here, and the same July average high, 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16 | -4 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Feb | 21 | -1 | 0.7 | 3 |
| Mar | 35 | 14 | 1.0 | 3 |
| Apr | 53 | 30 | 1.5 | 3 |
| May | 67 | 42 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Jun | 77 | 53 | 4.6 | 8 |
| Jul | 81 | 57 | 3.9 | 6 |
| Aug | 80 | 54 | 2.9 | 5 |
| Sep | 71 | 46 | 2.8 | 5 |
| Oct | 55 | 33 | 2.2 | 5 |
| Nov | 37 | 19 | 0.9 | 3 |
| Dec | 22 | 5 | 0.9 | 3 |
| Year | 51 | 29 | 25.1 | 52 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Ada, MN (907 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Ada
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 34 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Ada: 34 thunderstorm wind reports. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $829,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 9, 2002.
June 14, 2008: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Ada — $400,000 damage.
NWS: “Power was out in the Ada area with damaged transformers and trees down.”
July 29, 2008: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Ada — $220,000 damage.
NWS: “Corn fields were churned and flattened by strong winds.”
July 11, 2017: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Ada — $150,000 damage.
NWS: “The roof was blown off a pole shed and large trees were uprooted.”
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Ada's ZIP code 56510 have filed 60 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $813,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 44 claims (73% of all) and $631,000. 87% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 120 Minnesota cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 93 have fewer than Ada.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 44 | $631,000 |
Norman County, which includes Ada, has been named in 32 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 27 of them major disasters (by incident: 18 floods, 10 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on July 19, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Norman County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hail and strong wind; Very Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $5.5 million a year, the 76th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.0 million (36%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Ada
- Hillsboro, ND25 mi
- Mahnomen, MN30 mi
- Glyndon, MN30 mi
- Crookston, MN31 mi
- Dilworth, MN32 mi
- Hawley, MN33 mi
- Moorhead, MN34 mi
- Fargo, ND35 mi
- West Fargo, ND36 mi
- Lake Park, MN37 mi
- Mayville, ND38 mi
- Fosston, MN40 mi
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