NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Clara City, 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 Clara City, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 97 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 97
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Clara City
The strongest of the 97 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on July 25, 2000; its path came within 14 miles, and it killed 1 person. Of the 97, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 54 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 38. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Clara City has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 63% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 37 times since 1971, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 94% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Clara City.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Clara City
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s18
- 2000s26(2 EF3+)
- 1990s24(1 EF3+)
- 1980s6
- 1970s4
- 1960s7
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 25, 2000 | F4 | 14 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 15 |
| Jul 11, 2008 | EF3 | 13 mi | 7.98 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F3 | 21 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2001 | F2 | 21 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F2 | 21 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F2 | 14 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F2 | 22 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F2 | 24 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F2 | 22 mi | 5.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F2 | 23 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 5, 1981 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 1981 | F2 | 10 mi | 6.8 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 Clara City
The Storm Prediction Center has 37 hail reports within 10 miles of Clara City since 1971, made on 29 separate days. Of these, 25 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently June 25, 2010. The most recent report is from July 15, 2024. July has the most reports, 11.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Clara City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Granite Falls, MN, 14 miles southwest of Clara City at 930 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 3°F. June is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 28.8 inches over 54 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 20 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 171 nights a year. Snowfall averages 51.5 inches a year, most of it in February. That 28.8 inches is more than at 37 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (30%). Renville, 15 miles southeast, has its own station (Olivia 3E, MN): 27.9 inches a year, 0.9 less than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 3 | 0.8 | 2 | 9.4 |
| Feb | 29 | 7 | 0.8 | 3 | 11.7 |
| Mar | 42 | 20 | 1.5 | 3 | 7.9 |
| Apr | 57 | 33 | 2.4 | 5 | 3.9 |
| May | 71 | 45 | 3.5 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 80 | 55 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 60 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 58 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 48 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 35 | 2.4 | 5 | 0.8 |
| Nov | 43 | 22 | 1.4 | 3 | 6.6 |
| Dec | 29 | 10 | 1.1 | 3 | 11.1 |
| Year | 56 | 33 | 28.8 | 54 | 51.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Granite Falls, MN (930 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 Clara City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 38 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Clara City: 32 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 heavy rain events, 1 flash flood and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $594,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 15, 2024.
April 11, 2023: flood 8 miles from the centre of Clara City — $284,000 damage.
June 24, 1998: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Clara City — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Chimney blown through roof of grocery store. Trees down.”
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
Chippewa County, which includes Clara City, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 floods, 7 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 Chippewa County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.2 million a year, the 59th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.2 million (51%), 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 Clara City
- Renville, MN15 mi
- Granite Falls, MN16 mi
- Montevideo, MN17 mi
- Willmar, MN19 mi
- Olivia, MN23 mi
- Benson, MN26 mi
- Spicer, MN27 mi
- Atwater, MN30 mi
- New London, MN30 mi
- Redwood Falls, MN32 mi
- Dawson, MN33 mi
- Appleton, MN36 mi
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