NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Benson, 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 Benson, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 97 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 97
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Benson
The strongest of the 97 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on June 18, 1964; its path came within 22 miles. Of the 97, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 68 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 30. The most recent tornado was on June 28, 2025. Benson has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 63% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 43 times since 1959, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 90% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Benson.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Benson
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s33
- 2000s22
- 1990s13
- 1970s6
- 1960s5(1 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 18, 1964 | F3 | 22 mi | 6.2 mi | 0 / 13 |
| Jul 14, 2009 | EF2 | 6 mi | 7.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2001 | F2 | in town | 8 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F2 | 8 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 7, 1959 | F2 | 25 mi | 13 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 15, 1954 | F2 | 8 mi | 7.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1953 | F2 | 11 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 1952 | F2 | 4 mi | 8.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 28, 2025 | EF1 | 11 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 2025 | EF1 | in town | 2.66 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2022 | EF1 | 20 mi | 3.16 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2022 | EF1 | 15 mi | 5.39 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 97, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Benson
The Storm Prediction Center has 43 hail reports within 10 miles of Benson since 1959, made on 36 separate days. Of these, 26 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently August 28, 2021. The most recent report is from August 28, 2021. June has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Benson
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Benson, MN, 2 miles west of Benson at 1,030 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 21°F and 1°F. June is the wettest at 4.1 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 28.1 inches over 55 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 168 nights a year. Snowfall averages 42.6 inches a year, most of it in February. That 28.1 inches is more than at 32 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (26%). Starbuck, 18 miles north, has its own station (Glenwood 2WNW, MN): 26.4 inches a year, 1.7 less than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21 | 1 | 0.7 | 2 | 8.3 |
| Feb | 26 | 5 | 0.8 | 2 | 8.5 |
| Mar | 39 | 18 | 1.5 | 4 | 7.1 |
| Apr | 56 | 33 | 2.6 | 5 | 4.2 |
| May | 69 | 46 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 79 | 57 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 61 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 59 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 49 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 59 | 35 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 41 | 22 | 1.2 | 3 | 5.7 |
| Dec | 27 | 8 | 0.8 | 3 | 8.4 |
| Year | 55 | 33 | 28.1 | 55 | 42.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Benson, MN (1,030 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 Benson
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 46 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Benson: 44 thunderstorm wind reports, 1 flash flood and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on June 21, 2013.
July 17, 2015: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Benson — 1 injured.
NWS: “A large tree limb was blown off and landed on a tent in the Swift Falls Campground. One individual was injured in the tent.”
June 21, 2013: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Benson — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “One barn collapsed, many pole sheds, garages, out buildings, and silos were heavily damaged. Damage extended across most of far southern Pope County.”
July 1, 1997: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Benson — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Three 50,000 bushel grain bins blown onto highway. Wall collapse at ethanol plant.”
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
Swift County, which includes Benson, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 6 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 Swift County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.0 million a year, the 68th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.0 million (50%), 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 Benson
- Starbuck, MN18 mi
- Appleton, MN22 mi
- Glenwood, MN23 mi
- Montevideo, MN24 mi
- Morris, MN25 mi
- Clara City, MN26 mi
- New London, MN28 mi
- Willmar, MN29 mi
- Spicer, MN31 mi
- Belgrade, MN31 mi
- Dawson, MN35 mi
- Madison, MN36 mi
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