NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Pipestone, 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 Pipestone, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 69 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 69
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Pipestone
The strongest of the 69 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 16, 1992; its path came within 21 miles, and it killed 1 person. Of the 69, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 26 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 32. The most recent tornado was on September 23, 2023. Of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site, 67% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Pipestone. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 91 times since 1955, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Pipestone has more hail reports within 10 miles than 53% of the 341 Minnesota cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Pipestone
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s8
- 2000s13
- 1990s19(3 EF3+)
- 1980s7(1 EF3+)
- 1970s6
- 1960s8
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 16, 1992 | F5 | 21 mi | 16 mi | 1 / 35 |
| Jun 7, 1993 | F4 | 22 mi | 54 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F4 | 18 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Apr 20, 1985 | F3 | 14 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 1, 2011 | EF2 | 19 mi | 1.33 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 29, 1998 | F2 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1993 | F2 | 6 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F2 | 19 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F2 | 24 mi | 13 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 1987 | F2 | 23 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 1971 | F2 | 25 mi | 36.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 1969 | F2 | 3 mi | 29.3 mi | 0 / 5 |
The strongest 12 of 69, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Pipestone
The Storm Prediction Center has 91 hail reports within 10 miles of Pipestone since 1955, made on 55 separate days. Of these, 49 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 20, 1985. The most recent report is from September 21, 2025. June has the most reports, 24.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Pipestone
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Pipestone, MN, in Pipestone at 1,705 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 22°F and 5°F. June is the wettest at 4.5 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 28.9 inches over 56 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 173 nights a year. Snowfall averages 39.6 inches a year, most of it in February. That 28.9 inches is more than at 40 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (32%). Flandreau, SD, 13 miles west, has its own station (Flandreau, SD): 28.5 inches a year, 0.4 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 | 22 | 5 | 0.7 | 2 | 6.0 |
| Feb | 27 | 9 | 0.7 | 3 | 8.8 |
| Mar | 40 | 21 | 1.5 | 4 | 5.7 |
| Apr | 55 | 34 | 3.0 | 6 | 4.0 |
| May | 68 | 47 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 78 | 58 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 61 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 59 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 50 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 59 | 36 | 2.4 | 5 | 1.0 |
| Nov | 42 | 23 | 1.1 | 2 | 5.5 |
| Dec | 28 | 11 | 0.9 | 3 | 8.5 |
| Year | 55 | 34 | 28.9 | 56 | 39.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Pipestone, MN (1,705 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 Pipestone
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 118 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Pipestone: 76 floods, 34 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 flash floods, 1 heavy rain event and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $539,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 12, 2022. June has had the most flash floods, 3 of 6. Of the 312 Minnesota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 168 have had fewer than Pipestone.
June 16, 2014: flash flood 7 miles from the centre of Pipestone — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “S. Highway 75.”
April 6, 2019: flood 4 miles from the centre of Pipestone — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Runoff from occasional precipitation in late March and early April produced considerable flooding of agricultural land. 73 feet above flood stage on April 6, the fifth highest crest on record.”
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 Pipestone's ZIP code 56164 have filed 17 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1993, and were paid $357,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2010, with 10. Of the 120 Minnesota cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 31 have fewer than Pipestone.
Pipestone County, which includes Pipestone, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 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 Pipestone County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and heat waves; Very Low for inland flooding and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $7.8 million a year, the 70th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.9 million (38%), 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 Pipestone
- Flandreau, SD13 mi
- Garretson, SD23 mi
- Dell Rapids, SD23 mi
- Luverne, MN26 mi
- Slayton, MN28 mi
- Baltic, SD29 mi
- Brookings, SD31 mi
- Brandon, SD32 mi
- Volga, SD35 mi
- Fulda, MN38 mi
- Tracy, MN39 mi
- Larchwood, IA40 mi
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