NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Litchfield, 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 Litchfield, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 76 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 76
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Litchfield
The strongest of the 76 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 19, 1951; its path came within 17 miles, and it killed 1 person. Of the 76, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 41 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 28. The most recent tornado was on July 25, 2023. Of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site, 59% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Litchfield. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 73 times since 1975, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 60% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Litchfield.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Litchfield
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s15
- 2000s21(1 EF3+)
- 1990s16(2 EF3+)
- 1980s4
- 1970s8
- 1960s5
- 1950s2(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 19, 1951 | F4 | 17 mi | 52.6 mi | 1 / 20 |
| Jul 11, 2008 | EF3 | 22 mi | 7.98 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F3 | 25 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F3 | 16 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jul 11, 2016 | EF2 | 14 mi | 2.22 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 11, 2016 | EF2 | 2 mi | 3.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 24, 2003 | F2 | 25 mi | 5.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F2 | 24 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 1983 | F2 | 16 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 27, 1977 | F2 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 14, 2020 | EF1 | 15 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 2, 2019 | EF1 | 21 mi | 1.04 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 76, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Litchfield
The Storm Prediction Center has 73 hail reports within 10 miles of Litchfield since 1975, made on 55 separate days. Of these, 40 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.25 inches, fell on July 1, 2011. The most recent report is from July 27, 2025. June has the most reports, 25.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Litchfield
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Litchfield, MN, 2 miles north of Litchfield at 1,120 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 20°F and 0°F. June is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 30.0 inches. Highs reach 90°F on about 7 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 168 nights a year. That 30.0 inches is more than at 55 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (44%). Dassel, 10 miles east, has its own station (Dassel 3SE, MN): 28.9 inches a year, 1.1 less than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 20 | 0 | 0.8 |
| Feb | 25 | 4 | 0.8 |
| Mar | 37 | 17 | 1.5 |
| Apr | 53 | 32 | 2.7 |
| May | 67 | 45 | 3.7 |
| Jun | 77 | 56 | 4.6 |
| Jul | 81 | 60 | 3.8 |
| Aug | 79 | 58 | 4.1 |
| Sep | 71 | 48 | 3.0 |
| Oct | 56 | 34 | 2.6 |
| Nov | 40 | 21 | 1.4 |
| Dec | 26 | 7 | 1.0 |
| Year | 53 | 32 | 30.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Litchfield, MN (1,120 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 Litchfield
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 44 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Litchfield: 39 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 heavy rain events, 1 flood and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $269,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on May 7, 2000.
May 15, 1998: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Litchfield — $100,000 damage.
September 2, 2019: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Litchfield — $100,000 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
Meeker County, which includes Litchfield, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 7, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Meeker County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.9 million a year, the 50th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.7 million (48%), 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 Litchfield
- Dassel, MN10 mi
- Atwater, MN13 mi
- Watkins, MN14 mi
- Eden Valley, MN15 mi
- Hutchinson, MN16 mi
- Cokato, MN17 mi
- Kimball, MN18 mi
- South Haven, MN21 mi
- Paynesville, MN21 mi
- Silver Lake, MN22 mi
- Annandale, MN22 mi
- Howard Lake, MN22 mi
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