NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lonsdale, 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 Lonsdale, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 124 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 124
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for Lonsdale
The strongest of the 124 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 30, 1967; its path came within 24 miles, and it killed 6 people. Of the 124, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 68 have come since 2000. September has had the most tornadoes, 25. The most recent tornado was on June 28, 2025. Lonsdale has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 95% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 117 times since 1968, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Lonsdale has more hail reports within 10 miles than 65% of the 341 Minnesota cities.
Compare Lonsdale's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Lonsdale
By decade
- 2020s18
- 2010s36
- 2000s14(1 EF3+)
- 1990s29(1 EF3+)
- 1980s5(1 EF3+)
- 1970s5
- 1960s13(1 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 1967 | F4 | 24 mi | 20.1 mi | 6 / 22 |
| Aug 24, 2006 | F3 | 18 mi | 33 mi | 1 / 37 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F3 | 21 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 27, 1987 | F3 | 8 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 2018 | EF2 | 11 mi | 2.95 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 2018 | EF2 | 13 mi | 4.94 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 9, 2001 | F2 | 12 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F2 | 10 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F2 | in town | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F2 | 8 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 6, 1995 | F2 | 16 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1981 | F2 | 16 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 8 |
The strongest 12 of 124, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lonsdale
The Storm Prediction Center has 117 hail reports within 10 miles of Lonsdale since 1968, made on 66 separate days. Of these, 75 were 1 inch across or larger, and 20 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.25 inches, fell on August 24, 2006. The most recent report is from May 27, 2024. June has the most reports, 46.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lonsdale
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Faribault, MN, 13 miles southeast of Lonsdale at 970 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 23°F and 5°F. June is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 1.0 inches; the year adds up to 35.5 inches over 66 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 168 nights a year. Snowfall averages 43.3 inches a year, most of it in February. That 35.5 inches is more than at 112 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (90%). Montgomery, 8 miles west, has its own station (Jordan 1SSW, MN): 33.6 inches a year, 1.9 less 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 | 23 | 5 | 1.0 | 3 | 9.4 |
| Feb | 28 | 8 | 1.0 | 3 | 10.6 |
| Mar | 40 | 20 | 1.9 | 4 | 6.4 |
| Apr | 56 | 33 | 3.1 | 7 | 1.6 |
| May | 68 | 45 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Jun | 78 | 57 | 5.6 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 61 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 58 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 50 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 59 | 36 | 2.6 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 42 | 24 | 1.7 | 4 | 4.9 |
| Dec | 29 | 13 | 1.2 | 4 | 10.1 |
| Year | 55 | 34 | 35.5 | 66 | 43.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Faribault, MN (970 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 Lonsdale
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 67 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lonsdale: 58 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 flash floods, 3 floods and 3 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on August 16, 2002.
July 13, 2013: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Lonsdale — $2.0 million 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
Rice County, which includes Lonsdale, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on June 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Rice County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hail and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and inland flooding; Relatively Low for lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $36.7 million a year, the 15th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $18.5 million (50%), 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.