NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lake Crystal, 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 Lake Crystal, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 107 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 107
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Lake Crystal
The strongest of the 107 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on March 29, 1998; its path came within 10 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an F3 on August 24, 2006, killed 1 person. Of the 107, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 55 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 36. The most recent tornado was on September 4, 2025. Lake Crystal has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 81% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 49 times since 1968, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 85% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Lake Crystal.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Lake Crystal
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s24
- 2000s20(1 EF3+)
- 1990s19(3 EF3+)
- 1980s13
- 1970s7
- 1960s8
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 29, 1998 | F4 | 10 mi | 73.5 mi | 1 / 19 |
| Aug 24, 2006 | F3 | 10 mi | 33 mi | 1 / 37 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F3 | 11 mi | 12 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F3 | 20 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1976 | F2 | 13 mi | 24.6 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Jun 25, 2010 | EF2 | 13 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 2010 | EF2 | 5 mi | 0.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 2010 | EF2 | 9 mi | 4.34 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 2003 | F2 | 22 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 2003 | F2 | 4 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 7, 1994 | F2 | 15 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 18, 1980 | F2 | 3 mi | 2.8 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 107, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lake Crystal
The Storm Prediction Center has 49 hail reports within 10 miles of Lake Crystal since 1968, made on 31 separate days. Of these, 31 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 28, 1974. The most recent report is from August 27, 2025. May has the most reports, 20.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lake Crystal
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mankato, MN, 11 miles east of Lake Crystal at 850 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 6°F. June is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 33.9 inches over 64 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from May to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 161 nights a year. Snowfall averages 38.7 inches a year, most of it in December. That 33.9 inches is more than at 98 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (79%). Madelia, 11 miles southwest, has its own station (St James Wwtp, MN): 33.1 inches a year, 0.8 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 6 | 1.0 | 3 | 8.2 |
| Feb | 29 | 9 | 0.8 | 3 | 6.9 |
| Mar | 41 | 22 | 1.9 | 4 | 7.4 |
| Apr | 57 | 34 | 3.3 | 7 | 1.6 |
| May | 69 | 47 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 58 | 5.6 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 62 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 59 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 50 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 37 | 2.4 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 43 | 25 | 1.7 | 4 | 5.9 |
| Dec | 29 | 13 | 1.1 | 3 | 8.6 |
| Year | 55 | 35 | 33.9 | 64 | 38.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Mankato, MN (850 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 Lake Crystal
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 59 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lake Crystal: 40 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 flash floods, 7 heavy rain events, 4 floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on July 20, 1998. June has had the most flash floods, 6 of 7. Of the 312 Minnesota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 190 have had fewer than Lake Crystal.
June 18, 2014: flood 5 miles from the centre of Lake Crystal — $2.3 million damage.
NWS: “There were multiple reports of road closures due to high water and debris along the Minnesota River. Flood waters caused around 70 people to move out of their apartment complex in Mankato.”
August 19, 2016: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Lake Crystal — $150,000 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
Blue Earth County, which includes Lake Crystal, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 13 floods, 3 severe storms, 3 tornadoes, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on June 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Blue Earth 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 and heat waves; Very Low for lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $33.2 million a year, the 16th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.9 million (36%), 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 Lake Crystal
- North Mankato, MN10 mi
- Madelia, MN11 mi
- Mankato, MN12 mi
- New Ulm, MN17 mi
- Eagle Lake, MN18 mi
- Saint Peter, MN19 mi
- Mapleton, MN21 mi
- Madison Lake, MN21 mi
- Saint James, MN22 mi
- Truman, MN23 mi
- Janesville, MN26 mi
- Sleepy Eye, MN27 mi
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