NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Crookston, 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 Crookston, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 86 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 86
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Crookston
The strongest of the 86 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF3 on June 17, 2010; its path came within 20 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an F1 on August 31, 1975, killed 2 people. Of the 86, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 55 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 29. The most recent tornado was on August 8, 2025. Crookston has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 50% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 80 times since 1957, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 54% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Crookston.
Compare Crookston's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Crookston
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s21(1 EF3+)
- 2000s21
- 1990s12
- 1980s7
- 1970s10
- 1960s1
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 17, 2010 | EF3 | 20 mi | 15 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Jun 8, 2019 | EF2 | 25 mi | 3.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 28, 2016 | EF2 | 20 mi | 9.57 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 21, 2014 | EF2 | in town | 37.92 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 26, 2007 | EF2 | 13 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 2005 | F2 | 9 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 2005 | F2 | 15 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2005 | F2 | 8 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 25, 1983 | F2 | 23 mi | 1.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 1980 | F2 | 15 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 26, 1978 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 1977 | F2 | 13 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 86, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Crookston
The Storm Prediction Center has 80 hail reports within 10 miles of Crookston since 1957, made on 50 separate days. Of these, 44 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on July 6, 1957. The most recent report is from April 23, 2022. August has the most reports, 19.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Crookston
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Crookston NW Exp Stn, MN, 4 miles north of Crookston at 891 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 58°F; January is the coolest, at 16°F and -4°F. June is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.5 inches; the year adds up to 22.5 inches over 46 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 7 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 186 nights a year. That 22.5 inches is more than at 0 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (0%). Red Lake Falls, 16 miles northeast, has its own station (Red Lake Falls, MN): 24.5 inches a year, 2.0 more than here, and a July average high of 79°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16 | -4 | 0.5 | 2 |
| Feb | 20 | 0 | 0.5 | 2 |
| Mar | 34 | 15 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Apr | 51 | 30 | 1.3 | 3 |
| May | 67 | 43 | 2.8 | 6 |
| Jun | 76 | 54 | 4.2 | 7 |
| Jul | 80 | 58 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Aug | 80 | 55 | 3.0 | 5 |
| Sep | 70 | 46 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Oct | 54 | 33 | 2.1 | 4 |
| Nov | 36 | 19 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Dec | 22 | 5 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Year | 51 | 30 | 22.5 | 46 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Crookston NW Exp Stn, MN (891 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 Crookston
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 49 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Crookston: 42 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 flash floods, 2 floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $576,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 110 mph, on June 23, 2005.
May 30, 2011: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Crookston — $400,000 damage.
NWS: “There were many reports of damage around Crookston, with many trees, power lines, and street signs blown over. A small shed was blown down and falling tree limbs damaged the roofs of numerous homes.”
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 Crookston's ZIP code 56716 have filed 82 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $429,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 47 claims (57% of all) and $176,000, then Not a named storm in 1979 with 12. 74% 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, 103 have fewer than Crookston.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 47 | $176,000 |
| Not a named storm1979 | 12 | $5,431 |
Polk County, which includes Crookston, has been named in 31 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 26 of them major disasters (by incident: 17 floods, 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding, on July 13, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Polk County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and inland flooding; Very Low for lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $26.9 million a year, the 23rd highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $13.4 million (50%), 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 Crookston
- Red Lake Falls, MN16 mi
- East Grand Forks, MN23 mi
- Thompson, ND25 mi
- Grand Forks, ND25 mi
- Ada, MN31 mi
- Thief River Falls, MN31 mi
- Warren, MN31 mi
- Hillsboro, ND34 mi
- Mayville, ND38 mi
- Fosston, MN41 mi
- Mahnomen, MN44 mi
- Bagley, MN59 mi
All Minnesota cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Crookston with another place →