NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Paynesville, 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 Paynesville, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 93 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 93
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Paynesville
The highest rating among the 93 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on July 11, 2008, came within 25 miles. The deadliest, an F1 on May 15, 1998, killed 1 person. Of the 93, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 51 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 31. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Paynesville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 57% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 75 times since 1956, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 59% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Paynesville.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Paynesville
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s21
- 2000s20(1 EF3+)
- 1990s13
- 1980s6
- 1970s7
- 1960s11(1 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 11, 2008 | EF3 | 25 mi | 7.98 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 5, 1964 | F3 | 14 mi | 4.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 2016 | EF2 | 15 mi | 2.22 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 11, 2016 | EF2 | 19 mi | 3.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 26, 1996 | F2 | 14 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Sep 3, 1980 | F2 | 19 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 1958 | F2 | 16 mi | 13.3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 15, 1998 | F1 | 18 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 30 |
| Aug 3, 2024 | EF1 | 16 mi | 5.36 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 14, 2020 | EF1 | 10 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 19, 2017 | EF1 | 17 mi | 8.18 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2017 | EF1 | 19 mi | 1.63 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 93, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Paynesville
The Storm Prediction Center has 75 hail reports within 10 miles of Paynesville since 1956, made on 49 separate days. Of these, 40 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.25 inches, fell on July 17, 2010. The most recent report is from August 15, 2025. June has the most reports, 22.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Paynesville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is New London, MN, 13 miles southwest of Paynesville at 1,250 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 20°F and 1°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and January and December the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 31.5 inches over 61 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 10 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 165 nights a year. Snowfall averages 50.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 31.5 inches is more than at 71 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (57%). Eden Valley, 8 miles southeast, has its own station (Litchfield, MN): 30.0 inches a year, 1.5 less 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 | 20 | 1 | 0.9 | 3 | 10.3 |
| Feb | 25 | 5 | 1.0 | 3 | 9.1 |
| Mar | 38 | 17 | 1.8 | 4 | 8.4 |
| Apr | 54 | 31 | 3.1 | 6 | 4.7 |
| May | 68 | 46 | 3.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 57 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 61 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 59 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 50 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 57 | 35 | 2.6 | 6 | 0.8 |
| Nov | 39 | 22 | 1.6 | 3 | 9.0 |
| Dec | 25 | 9 | 0.9 | 3 | 7.9 |
| Year | 53 | 33 | 31.5 | 61 | 50.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at New London, MN (1,250 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 Paynesville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 48 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Paynesville: 43 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 heavy rain events and 2 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $70,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on July 25, 2023.
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
Stearns County, which includes Paynesville, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on July 8, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Stearns County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Relatively Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $78.9 million a year, the 8th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $48.4 million (61%), 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 Paynesville
- Eden Valley, MN8 mi
- Richmond, MN10 mi
- Belgrade, MN14 mi
- Cold Spring, MN14 mi
- Watkins, MN15 mi
- New London, MN15 mi
- Spicer, MN16 mi
- Albany, MN18 mi
- Atwater, MN18 mi
- Kimball, MN19 mi
- Melrose, MN19 mi
- Freeport, MN20 mi
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