NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Saint James, 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 Saint James, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 82 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 82
- 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 Saint James
The strongest of the 82 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on March 29, 1998; its path came within 12 miles, and it killed 1 person. Of the 82, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 43 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 29. The most recent tornado was on August 5, 2024. Of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site, 53% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Saint James. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 53 times since 1963, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 79% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Saint James.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Saint James
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s18
- 2000s18(1 EF3+)
- 1990s10(1 EF3+)
- 1980s10
- 1970s7
- 1960s8
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 29, 1998 | F4 | 12 mi | 73.5 mi | 1 / 19 |
| Aug 1, 2006 | F3 | 7 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 2010 | EF2 | 24 mi | 4.34 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 2010 | EF2 | 24 mi | 0.33 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 1981 | F2 | 19 mi | 54.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 18, 1980 | F2 | 23 mi | 2.8 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 9, 1977 | F2 | 3 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1976 | F2 | 19 mi | 13.5 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Mar 18, 1968 | F2 | 14 mi | 2.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 16, 1963 | F2 | 5 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1962 | F2 | 3 mi | 42.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 1960 | F2 | 24 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 82, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Saint James
The Storm Prediction Center has 53 hail reports within 10 miles of Saint James since 1963, made on 43 separate days. Of these, 30 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on July 16, 1963. The most recent report is from April 28, 2025. June has the most reports, 21.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Saint James
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is St James Wwtp, MN, 1 mile east of Saint James at 1,070 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 5°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 33.1 inches over 59 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 160 nights a year. Snowfall averages 50.3 inches a year, most of it in December. That 33.1 inches is more than at 90 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (73%). Truman, 14 miles southeast, has its own station (Fairmont, MN): 33.5 inches a year, 0.4 more than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 5 | 1.1 | 2 | 10.8 |
| Feb | 28 | 10 | 0.8 | 2 | 11.0 |
| Mar | 40 | 22 | 1.8 | 3 | 8.2 |
| Apr | 56 | 35 | 3.1 | 6 | 3.5 |
| May | 69 | 48 | 4.7 | 9 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 80 | 58 | 4.9 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 62 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 59 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 51 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 37 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.6 |
| Nov | 43 | 25 | 1.6 | 3 | 4.9 |
| Dec | 29 | 12 | 1.1 | 4 | 11.2 |
| Year | 56 | 35 | 33.1 | 59 | 50.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at St James Wwtp, MN (1,070 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 Saint James
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 59 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Saint James: 41 thunderstorm wind reports, 10 flash floods, 4 floods and 4 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $4.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 78 mph, on June 20, 2019. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 10. Of the 312 Minnesota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 223 have had fewer than Saint James.
September 23, 2010: flood 10 miles from the centre of Saint James — $3.9 million damage.
June 20, 2019: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Saint James — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “St. James regional airport measured a wind gust of 78 mph.”
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
Watonwan County, which includes Saint James, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 3 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 Watonwan County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and heat waves; Very Low for inland flooding and lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.0 million a year, the 69th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.9 million (36%), 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 Saint James
- Madelia, MN11 mi
- Truman, MN14 mi
- Mountain Lake, MN15 mi
- Lake Crystal, MN22 mi
- Sleepy Eye, MN22 mi
- New Ulm, MN24 mi
- Springfield, MN25 mi
- Fairmont, MN25 mi
- Windom, MN26 mi
- Jackson, MN31 mi
- North Mankato, MN32 mi
- Mankato, MN34 mi
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