NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Scandia, 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 Scandia, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 93 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 93
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
19 deaths in all
What the records show for Scandia
The highest rating among the 93 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on July 3, 1983, came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on May 6, 1965, killed 6 people. Of the 93, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 44 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 37. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Scandia has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 57% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 91 times since 1975, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Scandia has more hail reports within 10 miles than 53% of the 341 Minnesota cities.
Compare Scandia's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Scandia
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s16
- 2000s20(1 EF3+)
- 1990s17
- 1980s9(3 EF3+)
- 1970s2
- 1960s13(2 EF3+)
- 1950s8(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 14 mi | 17.3 mi | 6 / 158 |
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 22 mi | 6.8 mi | 3 / 175 |
| Jul 3, 1983 | F4 | 24 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 21, 1957 | F4 | 21 mi | 9.2 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 23, 1952 | F3 | 14 mi | 18.2 mi | 2 / 6 |
| May 25, 2008 | EF3 | 9 mi | 5.96 mi | 1 / 17 |
| Apr 26, 1984 | F3 | 22 mi | 5.5 mi | 1 / 52 |
| Jun 14, 1981 | F3 | 21 mi | 16.2 mi | 1 / 83 |
| May 24, 1958 | F3 | 11 mi | 59.4 mi | 0 / 12 |
| May 10, 1953 | F2 | 20 mi | 105.7 mi | 4 / 27 |
| May 15, 2025 | EF2 | 23 mi | 3.94 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 21, 2005 | F2 | 20 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 93, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Scandia
The Storm Prediction Center has 91 hail reports within 10 miles of Scandia since 1975, made on 58 separate days. Of these, 56 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on May 1, 2001. The most recent report is from July 3, 2025. May has the most reports, 24.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Scandia
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Forest Lake 5NE, MN, 5 miles northwest of Scandia at 905 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 3°F. July is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 33.2 inches over 64 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 14 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 161 nights a year. Snowfall averages 51.6 inches a year, most of it in December. That 33.2 inches is more than at 93 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (75%). Shafer, 9 miles northeast, has its own station (St Croix Falls, WI): 30.5 inches a year, 2.7 less than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 3 | 0.9 | 3 | 9.6 |
| Feb | 30 | 6 | 0.9 | 3 | 9.3 |
| Mar | 43 | 19 | 1.7 | 4 | 9.2 |
| Apr | 58 | 33 | 3.0 | 7 | 3.7 |
| May | 70 | 45 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 56 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 60 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 58 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 50 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 37 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.6 |
| Nov | 43 | 24 | 1.8 | 4 | 7.4 |
| Dec | 29 | 11 | 1.2 | 4 | 11.8 |
| Year | 56 | 34 | 33.2 | 64 | 51.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Forest Lake 5NE, MN (905 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 Scandia
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 71 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Scandia: 65 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 flash floods, 2 lightning strikes, 1 flood and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $550,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 89 mph, on July 23, 2005.
July 10, 2011: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Scandia — $250,000 damage.
June 11, 2017: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Scandia — $100,000 damage.
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
Washington County, which includes Scandia, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 7, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Washington County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively High for tornadoes, hail and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $92.7 million a year, the 7th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $41.5 million (45%), 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.