NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Big Lake, 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 Big Lake, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 74 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 74
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
5 deaths in all
What the records show for Big Lake
The highest rating among the 74 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on July 3, 1983, came within 23 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on September 16, 2006, killed 1 person. Of the 74, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 30 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on August 29, 2024. Of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site, 60% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Big Lake. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 174 times since 1974, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Big Lake has more hail reports within 10 miles than 78% of the 341 Minnesota cities.
Compare Big Lake's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Big Lake
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s11
- 2000s15
- 1990s18(2 EF3+)
- 1980s11(3 EF3+)
- 1970s5
- 1960s7
- 1950s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 19, 1951 | F4 | 17 mi | 52.6 mi | 1 / 20 |
| Jul 3, 1983 | F4 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Sep 3, 1980 | F3 | 25 mi | 3.8 mi | 1 / 15 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F3 | 16 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F3 | 23 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jul 23, 1987 | F3 | 19 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 16, 2006 | F2 | 12 mi | 8 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jul 22, 1967 | F2 | 7 mi | 16.4 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Mar 21, 1953 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 1 / 3 |
| Sep 21, 2005 | F2 | 24 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F2 | 6 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F2 | 7 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 74, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Big Lake
The Storm Prediction Center has 174 hail reports within 10 miles of Big Lake since 1974, made on 77 separate days. Of these, 101 were 1 inch across or larger, and 14 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3.5 inches, was reported on 2 days, most recently July 13, 2024. The most recent report is from August 29, 2024. July has the most reports, 53.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Big Lake
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Elk Rvr, MN, 9 miles southeast of Big Lake at 880 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 23°F and 4°F. June and July are the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 32.9 inches over 54 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 163 nights a year. Snowfall averages 35.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 32.9 inches is more than at 87 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (70%). Monticello, 5 miles southwest, has its own station (Buffalo 2NE, MN): 31.6 inches a year, 1.3 less than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23 | 4 | 0.8 | 2 | 8.2 |
| Feb | 28 | 7 | 0.8 | 2 | 7.3 |
| Mar | 41 | 18 | 1.7 | 4 | 6.3 |
| Apr | 56 | 32 | 3.0 | 5 | 2.4 |
| May | 69 | 45 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 56 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 61 | 4.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 58 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 49 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 58 | 36 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 41 | 24 | 1.7 | 3 | 5.3 |
| Dec | 27 | 11 | 1.1 | 3 | 6.0 |
| Year | 55 | 33 | 32.9 | 54 | 35.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Elk Rvr, MN (880 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 Big Lake
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 112 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Big Lake: 98 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 heavy rain events, 4 lightning strikes and 1 flash flood. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $24.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 109 mph, on July 1, 1997.
July 1, 1997: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Big Lake — 1 injured.
NWS: “Five airplanes overturned at local airport. Roof blown off lumberyard, injurying a motorist.”
July 10, 2008: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Big Lake — 1 injured.
July 1, 1997: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Big Lake — $20.0 million 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
Sherburne County, which includes Big Lake, has been named in 10 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 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 Sherburne County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $30.8 million a year, the 19th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $17.0 million (55%), 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.