NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Barnesville, 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 Barnesville, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 98 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 98
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
12 deaths in all
What the records show for Barnesville
The strongest of the 98 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 20, 1957; its path came within 15 miles, and it killed 10 people. Of the 98, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 56 have come since 2000. June and July have had the most tornadoes, 35 each. The most recent tornado was on June 20, 2022. Barnesville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 65% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 57 times since 1972, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 75% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Barnesville.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Barnesville
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s22
- 2000s30
- 1990s7
- 1980s10
- 1970s7(2 EF3+)
- 1960s6
- 1950s12(4 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 20, 1957 | F5 | 15 mi | 52.4 mi | 10 / 103 |
| Jul 2, 1955 | F4 | 21 mi | 9.1 mi | 2 / 19 |
| Jun 28, 1975 | F4 | 21 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 28, 1975 | F3 | 17 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 30, 1956 | F3 | 24 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jul 2, 1955 | F3 | 16 mi | 18.7 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 4, 2014 | EF2 | 11 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2011 | EF2 | 22 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2011 | EF2 | 23 mi | 4.27 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 2007 | EF2 | 21 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 5, 2005 | F2 | 18 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 2002 | F2 | 11 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 98, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Barnesville
The Storm Prediction Center has 57 hail reports within 10 miles of Barnesville since 1972, made on 40 separate days. Of these, 41 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on May 11, 2004. The most recent report is from June 28, 2025. July has the most reports, 17.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Barnesville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Rothsay, MN, 14 miles southeast of Barnesville at 1,204 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 18°F and -1°F. June is the wettest at 3.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 24.8 inches over 53 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 171 nights a year. Snowfall averages 49.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 24.8 inches is more than at 8 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (6%). Hawley, 16 miles north, has its own station (Moorhead, MN): 26.0 inches a year, 1.2 more than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 18 | -1 | 0.8 | 2 | 11.4 |
| Feb | 23 | 3 | 0.6 | 2 | 7.7 |
| Mar | 36 | 17 | 1.1 | 3 | 7.2 |
| Apr | 53 | 31 | 2.1 | 4 | 4.1 |
| May | 67 | 45 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 76 | 56 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 80 | 60 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 78 | 58 | 2.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 70 | 49 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 55 | 35 | 2.3 | 5 | 1.6 |
| Nov | 38 | 21 | 0.9 | 2 | 6.9 |
| Dec | 24 | 7 | 0.9 | 3 | 10.7 |
| Year | 52 | 32 | 24.8 | 53 | 49.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Rothsay, MN (1,204 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 Barnesville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 51 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Barnesville: 40 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 flash floods, 4 floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $547,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on July 4, 2018. July has had the most flash floods, 3 of 6. Of the 312 Minnesota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 168 have had fewer than Barnesville.
May 14, 1998: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Barnesville — 2 injured, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “The wind blew over a semi truck, injuring the two occupants inside. One had a broken collar bone.”
July 8, 2020: lightning strike in Barnesville — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Lightning ignited a house fire, destroying the home.”
May 27, 2012: flood 9 miles from the centre of Barnesville — $105,000 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
Clay County, which includes Barnesville, has been named in 29 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1966, 24 of them major disasters (by incident: 15 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 Clay County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and lightning; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $42.0 million a year, the 11th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $28.3 million (67%), 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 Barnesville
- Hawley, MN16 mi
- Glyndon, MN17 mi
- Pelican Rapids, MN17 mi
- Dilworth, MN20 mi
- Lake Park, MN21 mi
- Moorhead, MN21 mi
- Horace, ND22 mi
- Fargo, ND23 mi
- Breckenridge, MN27 mi
- West Fargo, ND27 mi
- Wahpeton, ND28 mi
- Detroit Lakes, MN29 mi
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