NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Hawley, 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 Hawley, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 86 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 86
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
10 deaths in all
What the records show for Hawley
The strongest of the 86 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 20, 1957; its path passed within a mile of the city centre, and it killed 10 people. Of the 86, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 44 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 33. The most recent tornado was on June 24, 2023. Hawley has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 50% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 56 times since 1967, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 77% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Hawley.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Hawley
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s14
- 2000s24
- 1990s10
- 1980s9
- 1970s8(2 EF3+)
- 1960s7
- 1950s8(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 20, 1957 | F5 | in town | 52.4 mi | 10 / 103 |
| Jun 28, 1975 | F4 | 19 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 28, 1975 | F3 | 13 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 30, 1956 | F3 | 23 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jul 11, 2017 | EF2 | 17 mi | 12.81 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 4, 2014 | EF2 | 25 mi | 2.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 2007 | EF2 | 24 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 2002 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1996 | F2 | 8 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1964 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 13 |
| Jun 9, 1959 | F2 | 1 mi | 14.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 16, 1952 | F2 | 6 mi | 9.4 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 Hawley
The Storm Prediction Center has 56 hail reports within 10 miles of Hawley since 1967, made on 46 separate days. Of these, 33 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on July 12, 2004. The most recent report is from August 8, 2023. July has the most reports, 25.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Hawley
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Moorhead, MN, 21 miles west of Hawley at 904 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 17°F and 0°F. June is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 26.0 inches over 53 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 10 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 170 nights a year. Snowfall averages 52.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 26.0 inches is more than at 16 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (13%). Lake Park, 9 miles east, has its own station (Detroit Lakes 1 NNE, MN): 29.6 inches a year, 3.6 more than here, and a July average high of 79°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17 | 0 | 0.7 | 3 | 12.2 |
| Feb | 23 | 4 | 0.7 | 2 | 7.7 |
| Mar | 37 | 18 | 1.3 | 4 | 9.3 |
| Apr | 54 | 32 | 1.7 | 4 | 4.0 |
| May | 69 | 45 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 56 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 61 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 59 | 2.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 49 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 55 | 36 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.7 |
| Nov | 38 | 21 | 1.1 | 3 | 8.0 |
| Dec | 23 | 8 | 0.9 | 2 | 10.8 |
| Year | 52 | 32 | 26.0 | 53 | 52.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Moorhead, MN (904 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 Hawley
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 41 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Hawley: 35 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 flash floods and 2 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $533,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 82 mph, on July 11, 2016.
July 11, 2017: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Hawley — $400,000 damage.
NWS: “Numerous large tree limbs and power lines were blown down. Wind driven hail damaged fields and buildings.”
May 27, 2012: flood 7 miles from the centre of Hawley — $105,000 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
Clay County, which includes Hawley, has been named in 29 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1966, 24 of them major disasters (by incident: 15 floods, 10 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 Clay County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and lightning; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $42.0 million a year, the 11th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $28.3 million (67%), 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 Hawley
- Lake Park, MN9 mi
- Glyndon, MN12 mi
- Barnesville, MN16 mi
- Dilworth, MN19 mi
- Moorhead, MN21 mi
- Pelican Rapids, MN21 mi
- Detroit Lakes, MN22 mi
- Fargo, ND24 mi
- West Fargo, ND28 mi
- Horace, ND28 mi
- Ada, MN33 mi
- Frazee, MN33 mi
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