NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Little Falls, 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 Little Falls, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 46 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 46
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Little Falls
The strongest of the 46 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on September 18, 1997; its path came within 16 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an F1 on May 15, 1998, killed 1 person. Of the 46, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 20 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 13. The most recent tornado was on August 29, 2024. Of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site, 82% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Little Falls. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 48 times since 1962, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 86% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Little Falls.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Little Falls
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s5
- 2000s8
- 1990s7(1 EF3+)
- 1980s3
- 1970s7
- 1960s7
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 18, 1997 | F3 | 16 mi | 17 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Jun 13, 2001 | F2 | 5 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 18, 1997 | F2 | 9 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 25, 1981 | F2 | 15 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 1970 | F2 | 18 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 1961 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 15, 1998 | F1 | 18 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 30 |
| Aug 29, 2024 | EF1 | 10 mi | 7.46 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 12, 2022 | EF1 | 14 mi | 3.59 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 14, 2020 | EF1 | 19 mi | 5.91 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 2017 | EF1 | 14 mi | 6.75 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 7, 2016 | EF1 | 6 mi | 7.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 46, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Little Falls
The Storm Prediction Center has 48 hail reports within 10 miles of Little Falls since 1962, made on 36 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 July 29, 1962. The most recent report is from May 12, 2022. July has the most reports, 20.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Little Falls
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Little Falls 2NNE, MN, 2 miles northeast of Little Falls at 1,120 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 4°F. June is the wettest at 4.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 27.4 inches over 56 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 14 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 167 nights a year. Snowfall averages 52.8 inches a year, most of it in December. That 27.4 inches is more than at 25 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (20%). Holdingford, 17 miles south, has its own station (Collegeville St John'S, MN): 31.1 inches a year, 3.7 more than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 4 | 0.8 | 2 | 9.5 |
| Feb | 29 | 7 | 0.7 | 2 | 9.7 |
| Mar | 43 | 20 | 1.3 | 4 | 8.5 |
| Apr | 58 | 33 | 2.3 | 6 | 4.1 |
| May | 71 | 45 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 55 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 60 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 58 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 50 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 59 | 37 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.9 |
| Nov | 42 | 23 | 1.3 | 4 | 8.2 |
| Dec | 28 | 10 | 0.9 | 2 | 11.9 |
| Year | 56 | 34 | 27.4 | 56 | 52.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Little Falls 2NNE, 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 Little Falls
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 43 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Little Falls: 37 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 heavy rain events, 2 floods and 1 flash flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $175,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 78 mph, on August 9, 2005.
May 30, 2022: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Little Falls — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Scattered wind damage was noted from social media pictures in the township of Darling. This is northwest of Little Falls and posted significant barn damage, with several uprooted trees along a 50 to 60 foot path.”
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
Flood insurance policyholders in Little Falls's ZIP code 56345 have filed 11 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1990, and were paid $153,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 27% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 120 Minnesota cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 3 have fewer than Little Falls.
Morrison County, which includes Little Falls, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on July 19, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Morrison County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $29.6 million a year, the 21st highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $22.6 million (76%), 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 Little Falls
- Royalton, MN12 mi
- Pierz, MN14 mi
- Holdingford, MN17 mi
- Rice, MN19 mi
- Long Prairie, MN23 mi
- Browerville, MN24 mi
- Baxter, MN25 mi
- Avon, MN26 mi
- Freeport, MN26 mi
- Pillager, MN26 mi
- Brainerd, MN27 mi
- Sartell, MN27 mi
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