NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit South Haven, 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 South Haven, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 80 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 80
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for South Haven
The strongest of the 80 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 19, 1951; its path came within 23 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an F3 on September 3, 1980, killed 1 person. Of the 80, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 34 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 27. The most recent tornado was on September 29, 2023. Of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site, 55% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than South Haven. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 94 times since 1974, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). South Haven has more hail reports within 10 miles than 56% of the 341 Minnesota cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of South Haven
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s16
- 2000s15
- 1990s21(2 EF3+)
- 1980s4(1 EF3+)
- 1970s4
- 1960s11
- 1950s6(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 19, 1951 | F4 | 23 mi | 52.6 mi | 1 / 20 |
| Sep 3, 1980 | F3 | 16 mi | 3.8 mi | 1 / 15 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F3 | 15 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F3 | 11 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jul 22, 1967 | F2 | 12 mi | 16.4 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Mar 21, 1953 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 1 / 3 |
| Jul 11, 2016 | EF2 | 10 mi | 2.22 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 11, 2016 | EF2 | 18 mi | 3.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F2 | 18 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F2 | 13 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F2 | 8 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1981 | F2 | 12 mi | 2.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 80, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in South Haven
The Storm Prediction Center has 94 hail reports within 10 miles of South Haven since 1974, made on 51 separate days. Of these, 52 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on July 17, 2010. The most recent report is from June 16, 2025. June has the most reports, 33.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in South Haven
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Dassel 3SE, MN, 18 miles south of South Haven at 1,065 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 21°F and 2°F. June is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 28.9 inches over 57 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from May to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 158 nights a year. Snowfall averages 41.1 inches a year, most of it in February. That 28.9 inches is more than at 40 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (32%). Annandale, 5 miles southeast, has its own station (Buffalo 2NE, MN): 31.6 inches a year, 2.7 more than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21 | 2 | 0.6 | 2 | 5.6 |
| Feb | 26 | 6 | 0.9 | 3 | 11.4 |
| Mar | 39 | 19 | 1.4 | 4 | 6.0 |
| Apr | 55 | 34 | 2.7 | 6 | 5.1 |
| May | 68 | 47 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 58 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 62 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 60 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 51 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 58 | 37 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.7 |
| Nov | 41 | 23 | 1.3 | 3 | 2.9 |
| Dec | 26 | 11 | 0.9 | 4 | 9.4 |
| Year | 54 | 34 | 28.9 | 57 | 41.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Dassel 3SE, MN (1,065 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 South Haven
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 75 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of South Haven: 70 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 heavy rain events and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $21.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 119 mph, on June 11, 2001.
June 28, 1997: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of South Haven — 1 injured.
June 11, 2001: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of South Haven — $21.0 million damage.
NWS: “The mesocyclone which produced its first tornado 9 N Kerkhoven in Swift County intensified dramatically as it neared Spicer. A 5 to 6 mile wide swath of damaging wind blasted an area in a strip from Sunburg to 5 S Sunburg, then intensified dramatically as it neared Spicer and Green Lake.”
March 23, 2009: flood 3 miles from the centre of South Haven — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Many roads in and around Fairhaven were under two to four feet of running water. 5 to 3 inch of rainfall.”
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
Wright County, which includes South Haven, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 floods, 5 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 Wright County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $51.2 million a year, the 10th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $29.9 million (58%), 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 South Haven
- Annandale, MN5 mi
- Kimball, MN7 mi
- Clearwater, MN9 mi
- Maple Lake, MN10 mi
- Watkins, MN12 mi
- Cokato, MN15 mi
- Dassel, MN16 mi
- Cold Spring, MN16 mi
- Saint Cloud, MN17 mi
- Howard Lake, MN17 mi
- Waite Park, MN17 mi
- Clear Lake, MN18 mi
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