NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Motley, 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 Motley, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 55 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 55
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Motley
The highest rating among the 55 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 17, 2010, came within 22 miles. The deadliest, an F1 on July 5, 1991, killed 1 person. Of the 55, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 30 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 22. The most recent tornado was on June 16, 2025. Of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site, 78% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Motley. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 65 times since 1987, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 67% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Motley.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Motley
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s10(1 EF3+)
- 2000s9(1 EF3+)
- 1990s4(1 EF3+)
- 1980s2
- 1970s9(1 EF3+)
- 1960s9(1 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 17, 2010 | EF4 | 22 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Jun 11, 1966 | F4 | 23 mi | 72.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 2001 | F3 | 24 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 5, 1991 | F3 | 16 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Aug 26, 1977 | F3 | 7 mi | 26.3 mi | 0 / 11 |
| May 30, 2022 | EF2 | 10 mi | 10.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 12, 2022 | EF2 | 18 mi | 18.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 2015 | EF2 | 9 mi | 12.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 2001 | F2 | 21 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 2001 | F2 | 23 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 8, 2000 | F2 | 7 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Aug 26, 1977 | F2 | 11 mi | 110.4 mi | 0 / 10 |
The strongest 12 of 55, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Motley
The Storm Prediction Center has 65 hail reports within 10 miles of Motley since 1987, made on 35 separate days. Of these, 45 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on July 17, 2010. The most recent report is from September 12, 2025. July has the most reports, 31.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Motley
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Gull Lake Dam, MN, 14 miles east of Motley at 1,215 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 79°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 18°F and -1°F. July is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 27.0 inches over 53 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 2 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 175 nights a year. That 27.0 inches is more than at 22 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (18%). Staples, 8 miles west, has its own station (Wadena 3 S, MN): 29.4 inches a year, 2.4 more than here, and a July average high of 78°F against 79°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 18 | -1 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Feb | 24 | 3 | 0.6 | 2 |
| Mar | 37 | 16 | 1.2 | 3 |
| Apr | 51 | 31 | 2.4 | 5 |
| May | 65 | 45 | 3.4 | 7 |
| Jun | 75 | 56 | 4.1 | 7 |
| Jul | 79 | 61 | 4.4 | 6 |
| Aug | 77 | 59 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Sep | 68 | 49 | 2.7 | 5 |
| Oct | 53 | 36 | 2.6 | 5 |
| Nov | 37 | 22 | 1.0 | 4 |
| Dec | 24 | 8 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Year | 51 | 32 | 27.0 | 53 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Gull Lake Dam, MN (1,215 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 Motley
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 53 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Motley: 50 thunderstorm wind reports and 3 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $210,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 104 mph, on July 12, 2015.
July 17, 2010: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Motley — $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
Flood insurance policyholders in Motley's ZIP code 56466 have filed 38 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2001, and were paid $437,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2020, with 10. 11% 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, 76 have fewer than Motley.
Cass County, which includes Motley, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 5 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 Cass County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hail. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $13.9 million a year, the 45th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.9 million (56%), 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 Motley
- Pillager, MN7 mi
- Staples, MN8 mi
- Verndale, MN16 mi
- Browerville, MN17 mi
- Baxter, MN18 mi
- Nisswa, MN19 mi
- Brainerd, MN23 mi
- Pequot Lakes, MN23 mi
- Wadena, MN25 mi
- Sebeka, MN26 mi
- Pine River, MN27 mi
- Merrifield, MN28 mi
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