NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit New Ulm, 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 New Ulm, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 100 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 100
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for New Ulm
The strongest of the 100 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on March 29, 1998; its path came within 6 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an F3 on August 24, 2006, killed 1 person. Of the 100, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 56 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 38. The most recent tornado was on September 4, 2025. New Ulm has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 68% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 75 times since 1965, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 59% have more hail reports within 10 miles than New Ulm.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of New Ulm
By decade
- 2020s14
- 2010s22
- 2000s20(1 EF3+)
- 1990s18(2 EF3+)
- 1980s12
- 1970s6
- 1960s5
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 29, 1998 | F4 | 6 mi | 73.5 mi | 1 / 19 |
| Aug 24, 2006 | F3 | 10 mi | 33 mi | 1 / 37 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F3 | 15 mi | 12 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 2010 | EF2 | 21 mi | 0.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 2010 | EF2 | 6 mi | 4.34 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 2010 | EF2 | 10 mi | 0.33 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 2003 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 1981 | F2 | 19 mi | 54.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 18, 1980 | F2 | 19 mi | 2.8 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 9, 1977 | F2 | 22 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 16, 1963 | F2 | 20 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1962 | F2 | 21 mi | 42.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 100, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in New Ulm
The Storm Prediction Center has 75 hail reports within 10 miles of New Ulm since 1965, made on 42 separate days. Of these, 49 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on March 29, 1998. The most recent report is from August 27, 2025. May has the most reports, 24.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in New Ulm
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is New Ulm 2 SE, MN, 2 miles west of New Ulm at 890 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 7°F. June is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 31.1 inches over 56 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 7 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 155 nights a year. Snowfall averages 38.3 inches a year, most of it in December. That 31.1 inches is more than at 66 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (53%). Winthrop, 16 miles north, has its own station (Brownton Wwtp, MN): 31.6 inches a year, 0.5 more 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 | 24 | 7 | 0.7 | 2 | 7.8 |
| Feb | 29 | 11 | 0.9 | 2 | 6.9 |
| Mar | 41 | 24 | 1.6 | 4 | 6.0 |
| Apr | 57 | 36 | 2.9 | 5 | 1.5 |
| May | 69 | 49 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 79 | 59 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 63 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 60 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 52 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 39 | 2.4 | 5 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 43 | 26 | 1.5 | 4 | 6.5 |
| Dec | 29 | 13 | 0.9 | 3 | 9.0 |
| Year | 55 | 36 | 31.1 | 56 | 38.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at New Ulm 2 SE, MN (890 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 New Ulm
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 88 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of New Ulm: 75 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 floods, 5 flash floods and 2 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $14.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on July 20, 1998. June has had the most flash floods, 4 of 5. Of the 312 Minnesota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 132 have had fewer than New Ulm.
July 20, 1998: thunderstorm wind in New Ulm — $11.0 million damage.
NWS: “4,000 trees blown down. 10 businesses lost portions of their roof.”
May 23, 2012: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of New Ulm — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “A 75 mph wind gust was measured at the New Ulm airport. In addition, several buildings east and northeast of the airport were damaged, with damage to parts of the New Ulm Airport terminal building roof.”
June 18, 2014: flood 4 miles from the centre of New Ulm — $850,000 damage.
NWS: “Highway 13 that crosses the Minnesota River near New Ulm was closed due to flood waters.”
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 New Ulm's ZIP code 56073 have filed 23 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1993, and were paid $139,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 11 claims (48% of all) and $59,000. 74% 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, 51 have fewer than New Ulm.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 11 | $59,000 |
Brown County, which includes New Ulm, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 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 Brown County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $24.4 million a year, the 25th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.4 million (34%), 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 New Ulm
- Sleepy Eye, MN14 mi
- Winthrop, MN16 mi
- Lake Crystal, MN17 mi
- Madelia, MN18 mi
- Gaylord, MN20 mi
- North Mankato, MN22 mi
- Saint Peter, MN23 mi
- Saint James, MN24 mi
- Mankato, MN25 mi
- Springfield, MN26 mi
- Arlington, MN27 mi
- Le Sueur, MN29 mi
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