NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Cologne, 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 Cologne, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 102 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 102
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
17 deaths in all
What the records show for Cologne
The highest rating among the 102 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on May 6, 1965, came within 2 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on May 6, 1965, killed 6 people. Of the 102, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 52 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 28. The most recent tornado was on June 28, 2025. Cologne has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 71% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 160 times since 1956, with stones up to 3.25 inches. Cologne has more hail reports within 10 miles than 75% of the 341 Minnesota cities.
Compare Cologne's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Cologne
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s21
- 2000s16
- 1990s20
- 1980s12
- 1970s3
- 1960s11(4 EF3+)
- 1950s4(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 24 mi | 17.3 mi | 6 / 158 |
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 2 mi | 12.3 mi | 3 / 175 |
| Jun 19, 1951 | F4 | 19 mi | 52.6 mi | 1 / 20 |
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 13 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 20, 1951 | F3 | 18 mi | 11.6 mi | 5 / 40 |
| May 6, 1965 | F3 | 16 mi | 15.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 1965 | F2 | 6 mi | 11.2 mi | 1 / 175 |
| May 22, 1979 | F2 | 23 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 1977 | F2 | 12 mi | 19.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 24, 1952 | F2 | 13 mi | 70.9 mi | 0 / 15 |
| Jun 23, 1952 | F2 | 4 mi | 104.8 mi | 0 / 10 |
| May 22, 2011 | EF1 | 25 mi | 13.57 mi | 1 / 48 |
The strongest 12 of 102, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Cologne
The Storm Prediction Center has 160 hail reports within 10 miles of Cologne since 1956, made on 80 separate days. Of these, 81 were 1 inch across or larger, and 11 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.25 inches, fell on June 16, 2025. The most recent report is from August 15, 2025. June has the most reports, 53.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Cologne
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Chaska 2NW, MN, 8 miles northeast of Cologne at 923 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 23°F and 4°F. June is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 34.2 inches over 61 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 161 nights a year. Snowfall averages 51.6 inches a year, most of it in December. That 34.2 inches is more than at 101 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (81%). Belle Plaine, 11 miles south, has its own station (Jordan 1SSW, MN): 33.6 inches a year, 0.6 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 | 0.9 | 2 | 7.8 |
| Feb | 27 | 7 | 0.9 | 3 | 11.4 |
| Mar | 40 | 19 | 1.7 | 5 | 8.0 |
| Apr | 56 | 33 | 3.2 | 7 | 4.0 |
| May | 68 | 44 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 56 | 5.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 60 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 58 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 50 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 58 | 36 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 41 | 24 | 1.7 | 3 | 3.5 |
| Dec | 28 | 12 | 1.3 | 5 | 16.6 |
| Year | 55 | 34 | 34.2 | 61 | 51.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Chaska 2NW, MN (923 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 Cologne
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 178 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Cologne: 137 thunderstorm wind reports, 23 heavy rain events, 13 flash floods and 5 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $15.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 19, 1996. June has had the most flash floods, 7 of 13. Of the 312 Minnesota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 247 have had fewer than Cologne.
May 30, 1998: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Cologne — 2 injured, $9.2 million damage.
July 1, 1997: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Cologne — 1 injured.
May 15, 1998: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Cologne — $5.0 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
Carver County, which includes Cologne, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on June 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Carver County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and hail; Relatively Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $41.4 million a year, the 12th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $18.0 million (43%), 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.