NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lakefield, 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 Lakefield, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 96 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 96
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Lakefield
The highest rating among the 96 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 31, 1971, came within 2 miles. Of the 96, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 41 have come since 2000. May and June have had the most tornadoes, 25 each. The most recent tornado was on April 28, 2025. Lakefield has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 62% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 70 times since 1955, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 62% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Lakefield.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Lakefield
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s15
- 2000s15
- 1990s10
- 1980s10
- 1970s15(3 EF3+)
- 1960s16
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1971 | F3 | 12 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1971 | F3 | 19 mi | 8.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 31, 1971 | F3 | 2 mi | 46.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F2 | 24 mi | 7.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 18, 1990 | F2 | 13 mi | 8.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1981 | F2 | 11 mi | 21.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1981 | F2 | 12 mi | 21.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1976 | F2 | 8 mi | 13.5 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jun 13, 1968 | F2 | 18 mi | 4.9 mi | 0 / 17 |
| Jun 13, 1968 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1967 | F2 | 24 mi | 8.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 9, 1966 | F2 | 19 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 96, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lakefield
The Storm Prediction Center has 70 hail reports within 10 miles of Lakefield since 1955, made on 53 separate days. Of these, 40 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 20, 1998. The most recent report is from April 28, 2025. July has the most reports, 22.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lakefield
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lakefield 2NE, MN, 4 miles northeast of Lakefield at 1,530 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 22°F and 5°F. May and June are the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 30.5 inches over 56 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 8 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 168 nights a year. Snowfall averages 48.5 inches a year, most of it in December. That 30.5 inches is more than at 58 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (47%). Windom, 16 miles north, has its own station (Windom, MN): 31.8 inches a year, 1.3 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22 | 5 | 0.6 | 2 | 9.2 |
| Feb | 27 | 8 | 0.7 | 2 | 9.3 |
| Mar | 39 | 21 | 1.5 | 4 | 7.8 |
| Apr | 55 | 33 | 3.0 | 7 | 5.4 |
| May | 68 | 46 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.3 |
| Jun | 78 | 57 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 60 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 58 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 49 | 3.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 59 | 36 | 2.3 | 4 | 1.1 |
| Nov | 42 | 23 | 1.2 | 3 | 5.2 |
| Dec | 28 | 11 | 0.8 | 3 | 10.2 |
| Year | 54 | 34 | 30.5 | 56 | 48.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lakefield 2NE, MN (1,530 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 Lakefield
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 61 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lakefield: 43 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 floods, 7 flash floods and 2 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $365,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on August 3, 2004. Of the 312 Minnesota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 190 have had fewer than Lakefield.
August 29, 2001: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Lakefield — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds tore a heavy rubber membrane off a school gym and wellness center. The resulting leakage of water caused damage to several pieces of electronic equipment.”
August 3, 2004: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Lakefield — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds destroyed at least two barns, damaged several smaller farm structures including silos, caused widespread tree damage, and blew down power lines which resulted in power outages. The winds caused crop damage in the area, but the amount of crop damage could not be determined.”
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
Jackson County, which includes Lakefield, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 6 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on June 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Jackson County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Very Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.8 million a year, the 60th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.8 million (49%), 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 Lakefield
- Jackson, MN10 mi
- Windom, MN16 mi
- Spirit Lake, IA16 mi
- Worthington, MN20 mi
- Milford, IA22 mi
- Mountain Lake, MN24 mi
- Fulda, MN25 mi
- Estherville, IA26 mi
- Sibley, IA32 mi
- Spencer, IA35 mi
- Hartley, IA35 mi
- Saint James, MN36 mi
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