NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Belle Plaine, 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 Belle Plaine, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 110 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 110
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for Belle Plaine
The highest rating among the 110 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 6, 1965, came within 11 miles. Of the 110, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 50 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 31. The most recent tornado was on September 4, 2025. Belle Plaine has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 84% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 93 times since 1956, with stones up to 3.1 inches. Belle Plaine has more hail reports within 10 miles than 54% of the 341 Minnesota cities.
Compare Belle Plaine's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Belle Plaine
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s18
- 2000s17(1 EF3+)
- 1990s27(2 EF3+)
- 1980s14
- 1970s4
- 1960s13(3 EF3+)
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 11 mi | 12.3 mi | 3 / 175 |
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 20 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 24, 2006 | F3 | 25 mi | 33 mi | 1 / 37 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F3 | 22 mi | 12 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F3 | 15 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 1965 | F3 | 20 mi | 15.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1976 | F2 | 24 mi | 24.6 mi | 1 / 6 |
| May 6, 1965 | F2 | 11 mi | 11.2 mi | 1 / 175 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F2 | 20 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F2 | 15 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 14, 1981 | F2 | 16 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 8 |
| May 21, 1977 | F2 | 8 mi | 19.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 110, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Belle Plaine
The Storm Prediction Center has 93 hail reports within 10 miles of Belle Plaine since 1956, made on 57 separate days. Of these, 52 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.1 inches, fell on August 24, 2006. The most recent report is from August 11, 2023. June has the most reports, 27.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Belle Plaine
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Jordan 1SSW, MN, 7 miles east of Belle Plaine at 900 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 22°F and 5°F. August is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 33.6 inches over 58 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 162 nights a year. Snowfall averages 39.8 inches a year, most of it in December. That 33.6 inches is more than at 97 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (78%). Henderson, 10 miles southwest, has its own station (St Peter, MN): 32.6 inches a year, 1.0 less 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 | 22 | 5 | 0.8 | 2 | 6.4 |
| Feb | 27 | 9 | 0.9 | 2 | 10.2 |
| Mar | 40 | 21 | 1.8 | 4 | 5.2 |
| Apr | 55 | 34 | 2.8 | 6 | 3.6 |
| May | 67 | 46 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 77 | 57 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 61 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 78 | 58 | 5.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 50 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 58 | 38 | 2.7 | 5 | 0.4 |
| Nov | 41 | 25 | 1.6 | 3 | 3.0 |
| Dec | 27 | 12 | 1.2 | 3 | 11.0 |
| Year | 54 | 35 | 33.6 | 58 | 39.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Jordan 1SSW, MN (900 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 Belle Plaine
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 98 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Belle Plaine: 73 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 floods, 9 heavy rain events and 7 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $10.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on June 4, 2019. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 7. Of the 312 Minnesota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 190 have had fewer than Belle Plaine.
June 18, 2014: flood 7 miles from the centre of Belle Plaine — $9.0 million damage.
June 19, 2014: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Belle Plaine — $500,000 damage.
March 18, 2010: flood 8 miles from the centre of Belle Plaine — $240,000 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
Scott County, which includes Belle Plaine, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 7, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Scott County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $66.5 million a year, the 9th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $27.3 million (41%), 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 Belle Plaine
- Jordan, MN8 mi
- Henderson, MN10 mi
- Carver, MN10 mi
- New Prague, MN11 mi
- Cologne, MN11 mi
- Le Sueur, MN13 mi
- Norwood Young America, MN15 mi
- Chaska, MN15 mi
- Le Center, MN16 mi
- Waconia, MN16 mi
- Montgomery, MN16 mi
- Shakopee, MN16 mi
All Minnesota cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Belle Plaine with another place →