NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Arlington, 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 Arlington, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 113 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 113
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for Arlington
The highest rating among the 113 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 29, 1998, came within 25 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on May 6, 1965, killed 3 people. Of the 113, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 55 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 38. The most recent tornado was on September 4, 2025. Arlington has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 88% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 73 times since 1964, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 60% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Arlington.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Arlington
By decade
- 2020s17
- 2010s24
- 2000s14(1 EF3+)
- 1990s25(3 EF3+)
- 1980s16
- 1970s8
- 1960s6(2 EF3+)
- 1950s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 21 mi | 12.3 mi | 3 / 175 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F4 | 25 mi | 73.5 mi | 1 / 19 |
| Jun 19, 1951 | F4 | 22 mi | 52.6 mi | 1 / 20 |
| Aug 24, 2006 | F3 | 24 mi | 33 mi | 1 / 37 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F3 | 21 mi | 12 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F3 | 20 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 1965 | F3 | 6 mi | 15.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 1965 | F2 | 7 mi | 11.2 mi | 1 / 175 |
| Jun 24, 2003 | F2 | 25 mi | 5.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F2 | 22 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 13, 1983 | F2 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1981 | F2 | 25 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 8 |
The strongest 12 of 113, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Arlington
The Storm Prediction Center has 73 hail reports within 10 miles of Arlington since 1964, made on 50 separate days. Of these, 39 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 17, 1986. The most recent report is from July 31, 2024. May and June have the most reports, 19 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Arlington
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Brownton Wwtp, MN, 14 miles northwest of Arlington at 1,040 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 21°F and 3°F. June is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 31.6 inches over 64 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 6 days a year, almost all from June to July. Lows fall below freezing on about 164 nights a year. Snowfall averages 50.0 inches a year, most of it in December. That 31.6 inches is more than at 74 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (60%). Henderson, 9 miles southeast, has its own station (St Peter, MN): 32.6 inches a year, 1.0 more than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21 | 3 | 0.7 | 2 | 6.9 |
| Feb | 26 | 7 | 0.8 | 3 | 11.8 |
| Mar | 38 | 20 | 1.5 | 4 | 7.6 |
| Apr | 55 | 34 | 3.0 | 7 | 7.0 |
| May | 68 | 47 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 77 | 58 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 61 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 58 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 49 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 58 | 37 | 2.6 | 5 | 0.8 |
| Nov | 40 | 23 | 1.3 | 3 | 3.6 |
| Dec | 26 | 11 | 1.1 | 4 | 12.2 |
| Year | 53 | 34 | 31.6 | 64 | 50.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Brownton Wwtp, MN (1,040 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 Arlington
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 73 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Arlington: 56 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 heavy rain events, 5 flash floods and 3 floods. They killed 1 person and injured 0, and the NWS estimated $692,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 19, 1996. June has had the most flash floods, 3 of 5. Of the 312 Minnesota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 132 have had fewer than Arlington.
May 24, 2016: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Arlington — 1 killed.
NWS: “Several media outlets and local officials indicated that an individual died from a fallen tree north of Arlington near Highway 15. The individual was on a four-wheeler in the pasture of his farm and attempted to herd his cattle to safety during a storm.”
March 14, 2007: flood 10 miles from the centre of Arlington — $400,000 damage.
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
Sibley County, which includes Arlington, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on June 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Sibley County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and hail; Very Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $13.5 million a year, the 46th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.1 million (46%), 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 Arlington
- Gaylord, MN7 mi
- Henderson, MN9 mi
- Glencoe, MN12 mi
- Winthrop, MN14 mi
- Le Sueur, MN15 mi
- Norwood Young America, MN16 mi
- Belle Plaine, MN17 mi
- Lester Prairie, MN19 mi
- Cologne, MN19 mi
- Saint Peter, MN20 mi
- Silver Lake, MN21 mi
- Waconia, MN23 mi
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