NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit South St Paul, 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 St Paul, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 108 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 108
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
23 deaths in all
What the records show for South St Paul
The highest rating among the 108 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 6, 1965, came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on May 6, 1965, killed 6 people. Of the 108, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 55 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 28. The most recent tornado was on August 29, 2024. South St Paul has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 82% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 329 times since 1956, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). South St Paul has more hail reports within 10 miles than 92% of the 341 Minnesota cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of South St Paul
By decade
- 2020s17
- 2010s19
- 2000s19(1 EF3+)
- 1990s15
- 1980s10(3 EF3+)
- 1970s7
- 1960s13(3 EF3+)
- 1950s8(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 16 mi | 17.3 mi | 6 / 158 |
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 15 mi | 6.8 mi | 3 / 175 |
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 24 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 20, 1951 | F3 | 11 mi | 11.6 mi | 5 / 40 |
| May 25, 2008 | EF3 | 20 mi | 5.96 mi | 1 / 17 |
| Apr 26, 1984 | F3 | 13 mi | 5.5 mi | 1 / 52 |
| Jun 14, 1981 | F3 | 5 mi | 16.2 mi | 1 / 83 |
| Jul 23, 1987 | F3 | 21 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 1958 | F3 | 17 mi | 59.4 mi | 0 / 12 |
| May 10, 1953 | F2 | 19 mi | 105.7 mi | 4 / 27 |
| Jul 14, 2010 | EF2 | 24 mi | 15.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 21, 2005 | F2 | 22 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 108, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in South St Paul
The Storm Prediction Center has 329 hail reports within 10 miles of South St Paul since 1956, made on 130 separate days. Of these, 222 were 1 inch across or larger, and 18 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on July 8, 1966. The most recent report is from September 21, 2025. May has the most reports, 114.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in South St Paul
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is St Paul Downtown Airport, MN, 3 miles north of South St Paul at 700 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 9°F. June is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.5 inches; the year adds up to 29.3 inches over 54 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 146 nights a year. That 29.3 inches is more than at 47 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (38%). Mendota Heights, 5 miles west, has its own station (Minneapolis/St Paul Airport, MN): 31.7 inches a year, 2.4 more than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 9 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Feb | 29 | 13 | 0.5 | 1 |
| Mar | 42 | 25 | 1.4 | 4 |
| Apr | 57 | 37 | 2.6 | 6 |
| May | 69 | 49 | 4.0 | 8 |
| Jun | 79 | 59 | 4.6 | 8 |
| Jul | 83 | 64 | 4.0 | 6 |
| Aug | 80 | 62 | 4.1 | 6 |
| Sep | 72 | 53 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Oct | 58 | 40 | 2.5 | 5 |
| Nov | 42 | 27 | 1.3 | 3 |
| Dec | 29 | 15 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Year | 55 | 38 | 29.3 | 54 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at St Paul Downtown Airport, MN (700 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 St Paul
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 240 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of South St Paul: 205 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 flash floods, 8 lightning strikes, 7 heavy rain events and 2 floods. They killed 3 people and injured 20, and the NWS estimated $48.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 98 mph, on May 19, 1996. June has had the most flash floods, 8 of 18. Of the 312 Minnesota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 270 have had fewer than South St Paul.
July 26, 2007: heavy rain event 8 miles from the centre of South St Paul — 2 killed.
September 20, 2007: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of South St Paul — 1 killed, $200,000 damage.
NWS: “Nearly two inches of rain in one hour caused Battle Creek in South Maplewood to rise. Several boys were playing in and along the creek, and a thirteen year old boy was swept below a nearby dam.”
May 30, 1998: thunderstorm wind in South St Paul — 11 injured.
NWS: “Mobile home flipped over. Structural damage at apartment complex.”
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
Dakota County, which includes South St Paul, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 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 Dakota 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 $133.7 million a year, the 3rd highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $56.6 million (42%), 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 St Paul
- Newport, MN2 mi
- West St Paul, MN3 mi
- Inver Grove Heights, MN4 mi
- St Paul Park, MN4 mi
- Mendota Heights, MN5 mi
- Saint Paul, MN6 mi
- Woodbury, MN6 mi
- Cottage Grove, MN7 mi
- Oakdale, MN8 mi
- Eagan, MN8 mi
- Maplewood, MN9 mi
- Roseville, MN10 mi
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