NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Howard 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 Howard Lake, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 98 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 98
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for Howard Lake
The highest rating among the 98 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 6, 1965, came within 18 miles. Of the 98, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 52 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 28. The most recent tornado was on June 28, 2025. Howard Lake has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 65% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 120 times since 1964, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Howard Lake has more hail reports within 10 miles than 66% of the 341 Minnesota cities.
Compare Howard Lake's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Howard Lake
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s22
- 2000s19
- 1990s22(2 EF3+)
- 1980s11
- 1970s5
- 1960s6(2 EF3+)
- 1950s2(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 18 mi | 12.3 mi | 3 / 175 |
| Jun 19, 1951 | F4 | 5 mi | 52.6 mi | 1 / 20 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F3 | 5 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F3 | 5 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 8 |
| May 6, 1965 | F3 | 11 mi | 15.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 16, 2006 | F2 | 24 mi | 8 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 6, 1965 | F2 | 19 mi | 11.2 mi | 1 / 175 |
| Jul 11, 2016 | EF2 | 23 mi | 2.22 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 11, 2016 | EF2 | 22 mi | 3.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F2 | 19 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F2 | 18 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F2 | 11 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 98, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Howard Lake
The Storm Prediction Center has 120 hail reports within 10 miles of Howard Lake since 1964, made on 62 separate days. Of these, 64 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 27, 2016. The most recent report is from August 9, 2025. June has the most reports, 38.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Howard Lake
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Dassel 3SE, MN, 10 miles west of Howard Lake at 1,065 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 21°F and 2°F. June is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 28.9 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 May to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 158 nights a year. Snowfall averages 41.1 inches a year, most of it in February. That 28.9 inches is more than at 40 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (32%). Waverly, 5 miles east, has its own station (Buffalo 2NE, MN): 31.6 inches a year, 2.7 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 | 2 | 0.6 | 2 | 5.6 |
| Feb | 26 | 6 | 0.9 | 3 | 11.4 |
| Mar | 39 | 19 | 1.4 | 4 | 6.0 |
| Apr | 55 | 34 | 2.7 | 6 | 5.1 |
| May | 68 | 47 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 58 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 62 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 60 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 51 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 58 | 37 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.7 |
| Nov | 41 | 23 | 1.3 | 3 | 2.9 |
| Dec | 26 | 11 | 0.9 | 4 | 9.4 |
| Year | 54 | 34 | 28.9 | 57 | 41.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Dassel 3SE, MN (1,065 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 Howard Lake
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 103 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Howard Lake: 90 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 heavy rain events, 4 flash floods and 2 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $255,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on July 1, 1997.
May 5, 2002: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Howard Lake — $200,000 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
Wright County, which includes Howard Lake, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 7, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Wright County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $51.2 million a year, the 10th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $29.9 million (58%), 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.