NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Faribault, 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 Faribault, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 128 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 128
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
12 deaths in all
What the records show for Faribault
The highest rating among the 128 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 30, 1967, came within 14 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 30, 1967, killed 6 people. Of the 128, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 64 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 28. The most recent tornado was on August 29, 2025. Faribault has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 97% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 101 times since 1958, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Faribault has more hail reports within 10 miles than 60% of the 341 Minnesota cities.
Compare Faribault's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Faribault
By decade
- 2020s14
- 2010s38(1 EF3+)
- 2000s12(1 EF3+)
- 1990s27
- 1980s10(2 EF3+)
- 1970s7
- 1960s17(2 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 1967 | F4 | 15 mi | 20.1 mi | 6 / 22 |
| Apr 30, 1967 | F4 | 14 mi | 38.7 mi | 5 / 35 |
| Aug 24, 2006 | F3 | 17 mi | 33 mi | 1 / 37 |
| Jun 17, 2010 | EF3 | 25 mi | 18.15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 27, 1987 | F3 | 9 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 1982 | F3 | 13 mi | 46 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 2018 | EF2 | 2 mi | 2.95 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 2018 | EF2 | 6 mi | 4.94 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 9, 2001 | F2 | 13 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F2 | 18 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F2 | 12 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F2 | 17 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 128, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Faribault
The Storm Prediction Center has 101 hail reports within 10 miles of Faribault since 1958, made on 68 separate days. Of these, 64 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 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 27, 2025. May and June have the most reports, 28 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Faribault
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Faribault, MN, 1 mile northeast of Faribault at 970 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 23°F and 5°F. June is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 35.5 inches over 66 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 168 nights a year. Snowfall averages 43.3 inches a year, most of it in February. That 35.5 inches is more than at 112 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (90%). Medford, 9 miles south, has its own station (Owatonna, MN): 35.6 inches a year, the same as here, and the same July average high, 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23 | 5 | 1.0 | 3 | 9.4 |
| Feb | 28 | 8 | 1.0 | 3 | 10.6 |
| Mar | 40 | 20 | 1.9 | 4 | 6.4 |
| Apr | 56 | 33 | 3.1 | 7 | 1.6 |
| May | 68 | 45 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Jun | 78 | 57 | 5.6 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 61 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 58 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 50 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 59 | 36 | 2.6 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 42 | 24 | 1.7 | 4 | 4.9 |
| Dec | 29 | 13 | 1.2 | 4 | 10.1 |
| Year | 55 | 34 | 35.5 | 66 | 43.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Faribault, MN (970 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 Faribault
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 86 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Faribault: 72 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 flash floods, 4 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $14.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 110 mph, on September 20, 2018. Of the 312 Minnesota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 204 have had fewer than Faribault.
September 3, 2005: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Faribault — 3 injured.
NWS: “Fire and rescue officials reported that high winds overturned a trailer camper at Lake Ripley Campground. Three people were pined inside and were transported to the hospital after rescue.”
April 12, 2022: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Faribault — $10.0 million damage.
NWS: “There was significant wind damage from a downburst that expanded in width as it traveled northeast. By the time it stopped producing damage, it was 8 wide on either side of Nerstrand.”
July 13, 2013: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Faribault — $2.0 million damage.
NWS: “Several local officials, trained spotters and the general public observed flash flooding across northern and eastern Rice County due to 3, to locally 8. Rice County Sheriff officials indicated that a number of residents were evacuated in Dundas, where homes suffered significant 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Faribault's ZIP code 55021 have filed 28 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1990, and were paid $386,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2024, with 10. 29% 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, 61 have fewer than Faribault.
Rice County, which includes Faribault, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on June 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Rice County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hail and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and inland flooding; Relatively Low for lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $36.7 million a year, the 15th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $18.5 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.