NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Clear 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 Clear Lake, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 76 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 76
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Clear Lake
The highest rating among the 76 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on July 1, 1997, came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on September 16, 2006, killed 1 person. Of the 76, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 31 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on August 26, 2019. Of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site, 59% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Clear Lake. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 81 times since 1977, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 53% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Clear Lake.
Compare Clear Lake's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Clear Lake
By decade
- 2010s15
- 2000s16
- 1990s15(2 EF3+)
- 1980s10(1 EF3+)
- 1970s7
- 1960s8
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3, 1980 | F3 | 13 mi | 3.8 mi | 1 / 15 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F3 | 21 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F3 | 24 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Sep 16, 2006 | F2 | 24 mi | 8 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jul 22, 1967 | F2 | 2 mi | 16.4 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Mar 21, 1953 | F2 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 1 / 3 |
| Jul 11, 2016 | EF2 | 25 mi | 2.22 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F2 | 13 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F2 | 12 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 21, 1995 | F2 | 18 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F2 | 10 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 76, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Clear Lake
The Storm Prediction Center has 81 hail reports within 10 miles of Clear Lake since 1977, made on 52 separate days. Of these, 49 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on July 26, 2019. The most recent report is from April 28, 2025. July has the most reports, 22.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Clear Lake
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is St Cloud Regional Airport, MN, 8 miles northwest of Clear Lake at 1,018 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 21°F and 3°F. August is the wettest at 4.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 28.7 inches over 57 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 172 nights a year. Snowfall averages 47.9 inches a year, most of it in December. That 28.7 inches is more than at 36 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (29%). Becker, 5 miles southeast, has its own station (Santiago 3 E, MN): 30.7 inches a year, 2.0 more than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21 | 3 | 0.7 | 2 | 8.8 |
| Feb | 26 | 7 | 0.8 | 3 | 8.9 |
| Mar | 39 | 20 | 1.6 | 4 | 8.2 |
| Apr | 54 | 32 | 2.6 | 6 | 4.7 |
| May | 68 | 45 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 77 | 55 | 3.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 59 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 56 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 48 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 56 | 36 | 2.6 | 5 | 1.0 |
| Nov | 39 | 23 | 1.4 | 3 | 6.9 |
| Dec | 26 | 10 | 0.9 | 3 | 9.3 |
| Year | 53 | 33 | 28.7 | 57 | 47.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at St Cloud Regional Airport, MN (1,018 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 Clear Lake
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 63 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Clear Lake: 62 thunderstorm wind reports and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $337,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 77 mph, on June 26, 1998.
July 17, 2010: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Clear Lake — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Several large 13-15 inch diameter trees were uprooted near Becker, Minnesota. In addition, a farm irrigation system was destroyed.”
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 Clear Lake's ZIP code 55319 have filed 30 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $326,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2022, with 10. 40% 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, 62 have fewer than Clear Lake.
Sherburne County, which includes Clear 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.
Cities near Clear Lake
- Becker, MN5 mi
- Clearwater, MN9 mi
- Big Lake, MN12 mi
- Monticello, MN13 mi
- Saint Cloud, MN13 mi
- Sauk Rapids, MN14 mi
- Waite Park, MN15 mi
- Foley, MN16 mi
- Maple Lake, MN16 mi
- Zimmerman, MN17 mi
- Sartell, MN17 mi
- South Haven, MN18 mi
All Minnesota cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Clear Lake with another place →