NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Monticello, 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 Monticello, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 77 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 77
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
7 deaths in all
What the records show for Monticello
The highest rating among the 77 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on July 3, 1983, came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on May 6, 1965, killed 3 people. Of the 77, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 35 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on August 29, 2024. Of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site, 58% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Monticello. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 171 times since 1962, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Monticello has more hail reports within 10 miles than 77% of the 341 Minnesota cities.
Compare Monticello's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Monticello
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s14
- 2000s16
- 1990s18(2 EF3+)
- 1980s10(2 EF3+)
- 1970s3
- 1960s8(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 23 mi | 12.3 mi | 3 / 175 |
| Jun 19, 1951 | F4 | 15 mi | 52.6 mi | 1 / 20 |
| Jul 3, 1983 | F4 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F3 | 11 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F3 | 18 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jul 23, 1987 | F3 | 19 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 16, 2006 | F2 | 11 mi | 8 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jul 22, 1967 | F2 | 9 mi | 16.4 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Mar 21, 1953 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 1 / 3 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F2 | in town | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F2 | 2 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 21, 1995 | F2 | 24 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 77, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Monticello
The Storm Prediction Center has 171 hail reports within 10 miles of Monticello since 1962, made on 77 separate days. Of these, 99 were 1 inch across or larger, and 20 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3.5 inches, was reported on 2 days, most recently July 13, 2024. The most recent report is from August 29, 2024. May has the most reports, 56.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Monticello
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Buffalo 2NE, MN, 7 miles south of Monticello at 992 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 21°F and 3°F. August is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 31.6 inches over 54 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 6 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 163 nights a year. Snowfall averages 39.8 inches a year, most of it in December. That 31.6 inches is more than at 72 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (58%). Big Lake, 5 miles northeast, has its own station (Elk Rvr, MN): 32.9 inches a year, 1.3 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21 | 3 | 0.7 | 2 | 7.3 |
| Feb | 27 | 7 | 1.0 | 2 | 8.0 |
| Mar | 39 | 21 | 1.4 | 4 | 6.8 |
| Apr | 54 | 35 | 2.6 | 5 | 2.6 |
| May | 67 | 47 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 77 | 57 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 61 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 59 | 4.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 51 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 57 | 37 | 2.5 | 4 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 40 | 24 | 1.5 | 3 | 5.6 |
| Dec | 27 | 11 | 1.1 | 3 | 9.3 |
| Year | 53 | 34 | 31.6 | 54 | 39.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Buffalo 2NE, MN (992 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 Monticello
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 126 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Monticello: 107 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 heavy rain events, 4 lightning strikes, 3 flash floods and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $28.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 109 mph, on July 1, 1997.
July 1, 1997: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Monticello — 1 injured.
July 10, 2008: lightning strike 1 mile from the centre of Monticello — 1 injured.
NWS: “Man struck and injured by lightning while accomplishing construction work on the roof of a home.”
July 1, 1997: thunderstorm wind in Monticello — $20.0 million damage.
NWS: “While several tornadoes converged on the southern edge of town, hurricane force winds battered the northern portions. The intersection of Interstate 94 and highway 25 was hardest hit by downburst winds resulting in extensive roof 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
Wright County, which includes Monticello, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 7, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Wright County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $51.2 million a year, the 10th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $29.9 million (58%), 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.