NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Apple Valley, 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 Apple Valley, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 107 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 107
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
18 deaths in all
What the records show for Apple Valley
The highest rating among the 107 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 6, 1965, came within 18 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on May 6, 1965, killed 6 people. Of the 107, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 54 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on June 28, 2025. Apple Valley has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 81% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 289 times since 1956, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Apple Valley has more hail reports within 10 miles than 91% of the 341 Minnesota cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Apple Valley
By decade
- 2020s18
- 2010s22
- 2000s14
- 1990s18
- 1980s10(3 EF3+)
- 1970s6
- 1960s15(3 EF3+)
- 1950s4(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 18 mi | 17.3 mi | 6 / 158 |
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 20 mi | 6.8 mi | 3 / 175 |
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 18 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 20, 1951 | F3 | 10 mi | 11.6 mi | 5 / 40 |
| Apr 26, 1984 | F3 | 19 mi | 5.5 mi | 1 / 52 |
| Jun 14, 1981 | F3 | 6 mi | 16.2 mi | 1 / 83 |
| Jul 27, 1987 | F3 | 19 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 9, 2001 | F2 | 18 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F2 | 13 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F2 | 20 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 1986 | F2 | 18 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 22, 1979 | F2 | 8 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 107, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Apple Valley
The Storm Prediction Center has 289 hail reports within 10 miles of Apple Valley since 1956, made on 141 separate days. Of these, 179 were 1 inch across or larger, and 11 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on July 8, 1966. The most recent report is from August 15, 2025. May has the most reports, 74.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Apple Valley
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Farmington 3 NW, MN, 5 miles south of Apple Valley at 980 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 23°F and 8°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 32.3 inches over 59 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 7 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 150 nights a year. Snowfall averages 41.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 32.3 inches is more than at 80 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (65%). Eagan, 5 miles northeast, has its own station (Minneapolis/St Paul Airport, MN): 31.7 inches a year, 0.6 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23 | 8 | 1.1 | 3 | 10.5 |
| Feb | 28 | 12 | 0.8 | 2 | 6.4 |
| Mar | 41 | 24 | 1.7 | 4 | 8.0 |
| Apr | 56 | 36 | 2.7 | 5 | 1.8 |
| May | 69 | 48 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 59 | 4.9 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 63 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 60 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 52 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 58 | 39 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 42 | 27 | 1.6 | 3 | 7.0 |
| Dec | 28 | 14 | 1.0 | 2 | 7.0 |
| Year | 55 | 37 | 32.3 | 59 | 41.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Farmington 3 NW, MN (980 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 Apple Valley
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 239 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Apple Valley: 198 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 heavy rain events, 15 flash floods, 7 lightning strikes and 3 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 14, and the NWS estimated $345.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 98 mph, on May 30, 1998. August has had the most flash floods, 6 of 15. Of the 312 Minnesota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 260 have had fewer than Apple Valley.
May 30, 1998: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Apple Valley — 7 injured, $140.0 million damage.
August 8, 2020: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of Apple Valley — 3 injured, $10,000 damage.
April 22, 2008: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Apple Valley — 3 injured.
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
Dakota County, which includes Apple Valley, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 7, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Dakota County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively High for tornadoes, hail and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $133.7 million a year, the 3rd highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $56.6 million (42%), 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 Apple Valley
- Rosemount, MN4 mi
- Burnsville, MN4 mi
- Eagan, MN5 mi
- Lakeville, MN6 mi
- Farmington, MN7 mi
- Bloomington, MN8 mi
- Savage, MN8 mi
- Mendota Heights, MN9 mi
- Richfield, MN10 mi
- Inver Grove Heights, MN10 mi
- Prior Lake, MN11 mi
- West St Paul, MN12 mi
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