NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rush City, 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 Rush City, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 54 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 54
- 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 Rush City
The strongest of the 54 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on May 21, 1957; its path came within 5 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 18, 2001, killed 2 people. Of the 54, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 24 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 18. The most recent tornado was on August 29, 2024. Of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site, 78% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Rush City. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 70 times since 1965, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 62% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Rush City.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Rush City
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s6
- 2000s13(1 EF3+)
- 1990s13
- 1980s4
- 1960s8
- 1950s5(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 1957 | F4 | 5 mi | 9.2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 18, 2001 | F3 | 17 mi | 34 mi | 2 / 16 |
| Jun 23, 1952 | F3 | 25 mi | 18.2 mi | 2 / 6 |
| Jun 17, 2010 | EF2 | 5 mi | 7.82 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 21, 1995 | F2 | 25 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1965 | F2 | 11 mi | 14.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 10, 1968 | F1 | 17 mi | 0.3 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Sep 16, 1955 | F1 | 20 mi | 10.4 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Aug 29, 2024 | EF1 | 18 mi | 9.63 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2022 | EF1 | 22 mi | 3.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 17, 2020 | EF1 | 17 mi | 2.96 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2005 | F1 | 24 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 54, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rush City
The Storm Prediction Center has 70 hail reports within 10 miles of Rush City since 1965, made on 39 separate days. Of these, 48 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.25 inches, fell on June 20, 2007. The most recent report is from August 11, 2023. May has the most reports, 18.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Rush City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Grantsburg, WI, 15 miles northeast of Rush City at 990 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 58°F; January is the coolest, at 22°F and 1°F. July is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 34.1 inches over 65 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 177 nights a year. Snowfall averages 52.2 inches a year, most of it in December. That 34.1 inches is more than at 100 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (81%). Harris, 8 miles south, has its own station (Cambridge, MN): 29.6 inches a year, 4.5 less than here, and the same July average high, 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22 | 1 | 0.9 | 3 | 10.8 |
| Feb | 28 | 5 | 0.9 | 3 | 8.9 |
| Mar | 41 | 18 | 1.6 | 4 | 8.4 |
| Apr | 56 | 31 | 2.9 | 6 | 3.5 |
| May | 69 | 44 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 78 | 53 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 58 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 56 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 47 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 58 | 35 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 41 | 22 | 1.8 | 4 | 8.1 |
| Dec | 27 | 10 | 1.4 | 4 | 11.9 |
| Year | 55 | 32 | 34.1 | 65 | 52.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Grantsburg, WI (990 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 Rush City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 54 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rush City: 50 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 84 mph, on July 19, 2019.
July 1, 2011: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Rush City — $500,000 damage.
July 1, 2011: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Rush City — $250,000 damage.
July 1, 2011: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Rush City — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Numerous large trees were blown down around Rush City, Minnesota. In addition, residents reported heavy damage to homes in the northwestern part of Chisago County.”
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
Chisago County, which includes Rush City, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 severe storms, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 7, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Chisago County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $22.7 million a year, the 26th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $12.7 million (56%), 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 Rush City
- Harris, MN8 mi
- Pine City, MN9 mi
- Braham, MN11 mi
- Stanchfield, MN12 mi
- North Branch, MN13 mi
- Grantsburg, WI15 mi
- Cambridge, MN16 mi
- Brook Park, MN19 mi
- Stacy, MN20 mi
- Mora, MN21 mi
- Isanti, MN21 mi
- Lindstrom, MN22 mi
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