NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Buffalo, 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 Buffalo, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 91 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 91
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
12 deaths in all
What the records show for Buffalo
The highest rating among the 91 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 6, 1965, came within 15 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on July 20, 1951, killed 5 people. Of the 91, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 40 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 27. The most recent tornado was on June 28, 2025. Buffalo has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 55% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 193 times since 1962, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Buffalo has more hail reports within 10 miles than 82% of the 341 Minnesota cities.
Compare Buffalo's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Buffalo
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s17
- 2000s17
- 1990s19(2 EF3+)
- 1980s13(1 EF3+)
- 1970s5
- 1960s11(3 EF3+)
- 1950s3(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 15 mi | 12.3 mi | 3 / 175 |
| Jun 19, 1951 | F4 | 8 mi | 52.6 mi | 1 / 20 |
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 22 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 20, 1951 | F3 | 24 mi | 11.6 mi | 5 / 40 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F3 | 4 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F3 | 13 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jul 23, 1987 | F3 | 18 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 1965 | F3 | 22 mi | 15.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 16, 2006 | F2 | 11 mi | 8 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jul 22, 1967 | F2 | 18 mi | 16.4 mi | 1 / 12 |
| May 6, 1965 | F2 | 24 mi | 11.2 mi | 1 / 175 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F2 | 7 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 91, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Buffalo
The Storm Prediction Center has 193 hail reports within 10 miles of Buffalo since 1962, made on 96 separate days. Of these, 113 were 1 inch across or larger, and 15 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 9, 2025. May and July have the most reports, 47 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Buffalo
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Buffalo 2NE, MN, 2 miles northeast of Buffalo at 992 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. August is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 31.6 inches over 54 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 6 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 163 nights a year. Snowfall averages 39.8 inches a year, most of it in December. That 31.6 inches is more than at 72 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (58%). Albertville, 10 miles northeast, has its own station (Elk Rvr, MN): 32.9 inches a year, 1.3 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21 | 3 | 0.7 | 2 | 7.3 |
| Feb | 27 | 7 | 1.0 | 2 | 8.0 |
| Mar | 39 | 21 | 1.4 | 4 | 6.8 |
| Apr | 54 | 35 | 2.6 | 5 | 2.6 |
| May | 67 | 47 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 77 | 57 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 61 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 59 | 4.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 51 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 57 | 37 | 2.5 | 4 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 40 | 24 | 1.5 | 3 | 5.6 |
| Dec | 27 | 11 | 1.1 | 3 | 9.3 |
| Year | 53 | 34 | 31.6 | 54 | 39.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Buffalo 2NE, MN (992 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 Buffalo
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 141 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Buffalo: 120 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 heavy rain events, 5 flash floods, 4 lightning strikes and 2 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $28.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 109 mph, on July 1, 1997. Of the 312 Minnesota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 132 have had fewer than Buffalo.
July 10, 2008: lightning strike 8 miles from the centre of Buffalo — 1 injured.
July 1, 1997: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Buffalo — $20.0 million damage.
September 21, 2005: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Buffalo — $5.0 million damage.
NWS: “Numerous trees and power lines down, including some on vehicles.”
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
Flood insurance policyholders in Buffalo's ZIP code 55313 have filed 132 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1986, with 39. 1% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 120 Minnesota cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 107 have fewer than Buffalo.
Wright County, which includes Buffalo, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 7, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Wright County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $51.2 million a year, the 10th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $29.9 million (58%), 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.