NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sleepy Eye, 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 Sleepy Eye, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 75 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 75
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Sleepy Eye
The strongest of the 75 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on March 29, 1998; its path came within 9 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an F3 on August 24, 2006, killed 1 person. Of the 75, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 40 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 34. The most recent tornado was on September 4, 2025. Of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site, 59% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Sleepy Eye. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 35 times since 1967, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 95% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Sleepy Eye.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Sleepy Eye
By decade
- 2020s12
- 2010s12
- 2000s16(1 EF3+)
- 1990s13(2 EF3+)
- 1980s11
- 1970s3
- 1960s5
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 29, 1998 | F4 | 9 mi | 73.5 mi | 1 / 19 |
| Aug 24, 2006 | F3 | 23 mi | 33 mi | 1 / 37 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F3 | 25 mi | 13 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 2010 | EF2 | 19 mi | 4.34 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 2010 | EF2 | 5 mi | 0.33 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 1981 | F2 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 1981 | F2 | 7 mi | 54.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 1977 | F2 | 16 mi | 5.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 16, 1963 | F2 | 17 mi | 5.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1962 | F2 | 16 mi | 42.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 1952 | F2 | 2 mi | 104.8 mi | 0 / 10 |
| Aug 5, 2024 | EF1 | 18 mi | 2.26 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 75, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sleepy Eye
The Storm Prediction Center has 35 hail reports within 10 miles of Sleepy Eye since 1967, made on 30 separate days. Of these, 23 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on July 13, 1997. The most recent report is from August 26, 2024. June has the most reports, 9.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sleepy Eye
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is New Ulm 2 SE, MN, 12 miles east of Sleepy Eye at 890 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 7°F. June is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 31.1 inches over 56 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 7 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 155 nights a year. Snowfall averages 38.3 inches a year, most of it in December. That 31.1 inches is more than at 66 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (53%). Springfield, 13 miles west, has its own station (Springfield 1 NW, MN): 29.7 inches a year, 1.4 less than here, and the same July average high, 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 7 | 0.7 | 2 | 7.8 |
| Feb | 29 | 11 | 0.9 | 2 | 6.9 |
| Mar | 41 | 24 | 1.6 | 4 | 6.0 |
| Apr | 57 | 36 | 2.9 | 5 | 1.5 |
| May | 69 | 49 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 79 | 59 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 63 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 60 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 52 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 60 | 39 | 2.4 | 5 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 43 | 26 | 1.5 | 4 | 6.5 |
| Dec | 29 | 13 | 0.9 | 3 | 9.0 |
| Year | 55 | 36 | 31.1 | 56 | 38.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at New Ulm 2 SE, MN (890 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 Sleepy Eye
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 35 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sleepy Eye: 30 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 floods, 1 flash flood and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $315,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on May 30, 1998.
June 25, 2010: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Sleepy Eye — $300,000 damage.
NWS: “A barn, and two sheds west of New Ulm, Minnesota, were destroyed due to severe straight-line winds.”
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
Brown County, which includes Sleepy Eye, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on June 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Brown County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $24.4 million a year, the 25th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.4 million (34%), 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 Sleepy Eye
- Springfield, MN13 mi
- New Ulm, MN14 mi
- Saint James, MN22 mi
- Madelia, MN23 mi
- Winthrop, MN25 mi
- Redwood Falls, MN26 mi
- Mountain Lake, MN26 mi
- Lake Crystal, MN27 mi
- Gaylord, MN31 mi
- Olivia, MN35 mi
- Truman, MN35 mi
- North Mankato, MN35 mi
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