NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Northfield, 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 Northfield, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 124 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 124
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
6 deaths in all
What the records show for Northfield
The strongest of the 124 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 30, 1967; its path came within 25 miles, and it killed 5 people. Of the 124, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 65 have come since 2000. May and September have had the most tornadoes, 24 each. The most recent tornado was on August 29, 2025. Northfield has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 95% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 94 times since 1966, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Northfield has more hail reports within 10 miles than 56% of the 341 Minnesota cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Northfield
By decade
- 2020s20
- 2010s33
- 2000s12
- 1990s31
- 1980s9(2 EF3+)
- 1970s4
- 1960s12(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 1967 | F4 | 25 mi | 38.7 mi | 5 / 35 |
| Jul 27, 1987 | F3 | in town | 30 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 1982 | F3 | 19 mi | 46 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 2018 | EF2 | 11 mi | 2.95 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 2018 | EF2 | 17 mi | 4.94 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 9, 2001 | F2 | in town | 12 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F2 | 6 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F2 | 8 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F2 | 20 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 6, 1995 | F2 | 16 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 1977 | F2 | 23 mi | 19.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 29, 1970 | F2 | 20 mi | 20.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 124, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Northfield
The Storm Prediction Center has 94 hail reports within 10 miles of Northfield since 1966, made on 52 separate days. Of these, 67 were 1 inch across or larger, and 14 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 2 days, most recently June 17, 2021. The most recent report is from September 19, 2024. June has the most reports, 30.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Northfield
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Faribault, MN, 12 miles southwest of Northfield 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%). Elko New Market, 12 miles northwest, has its own station (Farmington 3 NW, MN): 32.3 inches a year, 3.2 less than here, and the same July average high, 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 Northfield
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 85 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Northfield: 61 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 heavy rain events, 6 flash floods, 2 floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $334,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 110 mph, on September 20, 2018. June has had the most flash floods, 4 of 6. Of the 312 Minnesota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 168 have had fewer than Northfield.
August 16, 2002: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Northfield — $150,000 damage.
July 5, 2016: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Northfield — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “A storm spotter had pictures of grain bin and roof damage southeast of Northfield.”
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 Northfield's ZIP code 55057 have filed 46 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1992, and were paid $3.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 9% 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, 82 have fewer than Northfield.
Rice County, which includes Northfield, 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.
Cities near Northfield
- Dundas, MN4 mi
- Elko New Market, MN12 mi
- Elko, MN12 mi
- Lonsdale, MN13 mi
- Faribault, MN13 mi
- Farmington, MN13 mi
- Cannon Falls, MN14 mi
- Lakeville, MN15 mi
- Kenyon, MN17 mi
- Rosemount, MN19 mi
- Apple Valley, MN20 mi
- Montgomery, MN20 mi
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