NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Preston, 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 Preston, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 89 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 89
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
16 deaths in all
What the records show for Preston
The strongest of the 89 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 15, 1968; its path came within 16 miles, and it killed 13 people. Of the 89, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 42 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 25. The most recent tornado was on June 25, 2025. Preston has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 53% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 64 times since 1965, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 68% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Preston.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Preston
By decade
- 2020s22
- 2010s13
- 2000s7(1 EF3+)
- 1990s14(1 EF3+)
- 1980s6
- 1970s4
- 1960s20(3 EF3+)
- 1950s3(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 1968 | F5 | 16 mi | 62.1 mi | 13 / 462 |
| May 10, 1953 | F4 | 4 mi | 162 mi | 2 / 24 |
| May 5, 1965 | F4 | 14 mi | 41.6 mi | 0 / 11 |
| May 20, 1953 | F3 | 18 mi | 116.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2004 | F3 | 23 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 19, 1994 | F3 | 20 mi | 23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1965 | F3 | 11 mi | 65.2 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 22, 2011 | EF2 | 7 mi | 28.68 mi | 0 / 3 |
| May 17, 1982 | F2 | 22 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 5, 1980 | F2 | 21 mi | 5.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 1977 | F2 | 8 mi | 9.2 mi | 0 / 10 |
| May 15, 1968 | F2 | 22 mi | 4.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 89, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Preston
The Storm Prediction Center has 64 hail reports within 10 miles of Preston since 1965, made on 46 separate days. Of these, 30 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on July 22, 2013. The most recent report is from May 19, 2025. June has the most reports, 17.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Preston
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Preston, MN, 3 miles northeast of Preston at 930 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 58°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 4°F. June is the wettest at 6.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 1.1 inches; the year adds up to 36.8 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 8 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 166 nights a year. Snowfall averages 42.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 36.8 inches is more than at 118 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (95%). Spring Valley, 13 miles west, has its own station (Grand Meadow, MN): 37.6 inches a year, 0.8 more than here, and a July average high of 79°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 4 | 1.1 | 4 | 11.0 |
| Feb | 28 | 8 | 1.2 | 3 | 8.2 |
| Mar | 41 | 21 | 2.0 | 5 | 7.5 |
| Apr | 55 | 32 | 3.8 | 7 | 2.5 |
| May | 68 | 44 | 4.5 | 9 | 0.3 |
| Jun | 78 | 54 | 6.0 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 58 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 56 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 47 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 59 | 35 | 2.7 | 6 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 43 | 23 | 1.9 | 4 | 2.6 |
| Dec | 29 | 12 | 1.4 | 4 | 9.8 |
| Year | 55 | 33 | 36.8 | 69 | 42.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Preston, MN (930 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 Preston
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 75 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Preston: 55 thunderstorm wind reports, 12 heavy rain events, 5 floods and 3 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $5.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 84 mph, on December 15, 2021.
June 23, 2013: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Preston — $3.5 million damage.
June 8, 2008: flood 9 miles from the centre of Preston — $1.6 million damage.
NWS: “The Root River went into flooding due to the heavy rains during the weekend of June 7-8. 67 feet on June 9, which was the third 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 Preston's ZIP code 55965 have filed 33 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $91,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2008, with 13. Of the 120 Minnesota cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 67 have fewer than Preston.
Fillmore County, which includes Preston, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 6 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 Fillmore County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Very Low for lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $17.0 million a year, the 38th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.9 million (70%), 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 Preston
- Spring Valley, MN13 mi
- Chatfield, MN14 mi
- Cresco, IA18 mi
- Rushford, MN22 mi
- Saint Charles, MN23 mi
- Stewartville, MN24 mi
- Lewiston, MN26 mi
- Eyota, MN26 mi
- Decorah, IA27 mi
- Riceville, IA28 mi
- Houston, MN29 mi
- Rochester, MN32 mi
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