NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Onamia, 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 Onamia, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 40 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 40
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Onamia
The highest rating among the 40 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on September 18, 1997, passed within a mile of the city centre. Of the 40, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 12 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 14. The most recent tornado was on August 29, 2024. Of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site, 85% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Onamia. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 26 times since 1997, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 98% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Onamia.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Onamia
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s5
- 2000s3
- 1990s8(1 EF3+)
- 1980s6
- 1970s5(1 EF3+)
- 1960s5
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 18, 1997 | F3 | in town | 17 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Jun 25, 1973 | F3 | 24 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Sep 18, 1997 | F2 | 25 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 18, 1997 | F2 | 12 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 21, 1995 | F2 | 24 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 3, 1985 | F2 | 10 mi | 33 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 1961 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 8, 1959 | F2 | in town | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 16, 1955 | F1 | 21 mi | 10.4 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Aug 29, 2024 | EF1 | 19 mi | 7.46 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 26, 2019 | EF1 | 24 mi | 2.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 18, 1997 | F1 | 7 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 40, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Onamia
The Storm Prediction Center has 26 hail reports within 10 miles of Onamia since 1997, made on 19 separate days. Of these, 18 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on September 3, 2014. The most recent report is from April 17, 2025. July and September have the most reports, 9 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Onamia
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Isle 12N, MN, 19 miles northeast of Onamia at 1,285 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 78°F and low of 58°F; January is the coolest, at 19°F and 0°F. July is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 28.9 inches over 55 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 176 nights a year. Snowfall averages 43.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 28.9 inches is more than at 40 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (32%). Ogilvie, 20 miles southeast, has its own station (Mora, MN): 31.9 inches a year, 3.0 more than here, and a July average high of 80°F against 78°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 19 | 0 | 0.6 | 2 | 10.1 |
| Feb | 24 | 3 | 0.7 | 2 | 7.2 |
| Mar | 37 | 17 | 1.4 | 3 | 8.6 |
| Apr | 51 | 30 | 2.5 | 4 | 2.4 |
| May | 65 | 43 | 3.1 | 7 | 0.4 |
| Jun | 74 | 53 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 78 | 58 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 77 | 56 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 69 | 49 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 54 | 36 | 2.8 | 6 | 1.1 |
| Nov | 38 | 23 | 1.5 | 3 | 4.9 |
| Dec | 24 | 9 | 0.7 | 2 | 8.4 |
| Year | 51 | 31 | 28.9 | 55 | 43.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Isle 12N, MN (1,285 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 Onamia
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 25 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Onamia: 21 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 heavy rain events, 1 flash flood and 1 flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $559,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on August 14, 2020.
August 14, 2020: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Onamia — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Two large barns had their roof structure uplifted and blown off south of Onamia.”
April 11, 2023: flood 9 miles from the centre of Onamia — $149,000 damage.
NWS: “A combination of record setting seasonal snowfall, high snow water equivalent values, and rapid snow melt led to low lying areas, ditches, and ravines across the county to flood for a prolonged period of time.”
July 17, 2001: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Onamia — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Swath of damage along the south side of Mille Lacs Lake. Many boats and docks turned over.”
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
Mille Lacs County, which includes Onamia, has been named in 10 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on July 19, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Mille Lacs County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.3 million a year, the 54th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.1 million (63%), 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 Onamia
- Isle, MN14 mi
- Ogilvie, MN20 mi
- Pierz, MN21 mi
- Milaca, MN22 mi
- Mora, MN22 mi
- Foreston, MN24 mi
- Deerwood, MN27 mi
- Brook Park, MN28 mi
- Foley, MN28 mi
- Aitkin, MN30 mi
- Brainerd, MN30 mi
- Royalton, MN33 mi
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