NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Madelia, 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 Madelia, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 103 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 103
- 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 Madelia
The strongest of the 103 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on March 29, 1998; its path came within 12 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an F3 on August 24, 2006, killed 1 person. Of the 103, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 56 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 40. The most recent tornado was on June 16, 2025. Madelia has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 72% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 47 times since 1974, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 87% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Madelia.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Madelia
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s24
- 2000s23(2 EF3+)
- 1990s16(2 EF3+)
- 1980s10
- 1970s9
- 1960s8
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 29, 1998 | F4 | 12 mi | 73.5 mi | 1 / 19 |
| Aug 24, 2006 | F3 | 17 mi | 33 mi | 1 / 37 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F3 | 20 mi | 12 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Aug 1, 2006 | F3 | 17 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1976 | F2 | 19 mi | 24.6 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Jun 25, 2010 | EF2 | 19 mi | 1.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 2010 | EF2 | 15 mi | 0.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 2010 | EF2 | 16 mi | 4.34 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 2010 | EF2 | 23 mi | 0.33 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 2003 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 7, 1994 | F2 | 18 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 1981 | F2 | 23 mi | 54.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 103, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Madelia
The Storm Prediction Center has 47 hail reports within 10 miles of Madelia since 1974, made on 32 separate days. Of these, 32 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 2 days, most recently June 20, 2019. The most recent report is from August 5, 2024. May has the most reports, 18.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Madelia
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is St James Wwtp, MN, 10 miles west of Madelia at 1,070 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 5°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 33.1 inches over 59 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 160 nights a year. Snowfall averages 50.3 inches a year, most of it in December. That 33.1 inches is more than at 90 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (73%). Lake Crystal, 11 miles northeast, has its own station (Mankato, MN): 33.9 inches a year, 0.8 more than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 5 | 1.1 | 2 | 10.8 |
| Feb | 28 | 10 | 0.8 | 2 | 11.0 |
| Mar | 40 | 22 | 1.8 | 3 | 8.2 |
| Apr | 56 | 35 | 3.1 | 6 | 3.5 |
| May | 69 | 48 | 4.7 | 9 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 80 | 58 | 4.9 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 62 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 59 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 51 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 37 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.6 |
| Nov | 43 | 25 | 1.6 | 3 | 4.9 |
| Dec | 29 | 12 | 1.1 | 4 | 11.2 |
| Year | 56 | 35 | 33.1 | 59 | 50.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at St James Wwtp, MN (1,070 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 Madelia
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 39 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Madelia: 31 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 heavy rain events, 2 flash floods and 2 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 3, 1999.
September 23, 2010: flood 10 miles from the centre of Madelia — $2.1 million damage.
June 20, 2019: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Madelia — $500,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Madelia's ZIP code 56062 have filed 15 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2010, and were paid $1.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 40% 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, 20 have fewer than Madelia.
Watonwan County, which includes Madelia, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 3 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 Watonwan County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and heat waves; Very Low for inland flooding and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.0 million a year, the 69th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.9 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 Madelia
- Lake Crystal, MN11 mi
- Saint James, MN11 mi
- Truman, MN15 mi
- New Ulm, MN18 mi
- North Mankato, MN21 mi
- Mankato, MN23 mi
- Sleepy Eye, MN23 mi
- Mapleton, MN26 mi
- Mountain Lake, MN26 mi
- Fairmont, MN28 mi
- Eagle Lake, MN28 mi
- Saint Peter, MN29 mi
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