NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Spring Valley, 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 Spring Valley, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 102 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 102
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
16 deaths in all
What the records show for Spring Valley
The strongest of the 102 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on May 15, 1968; its path came within 15 miles, and it killed 13 people. Of the 102, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 45 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 30. The most recent tornado was on August 5, 2024. Spring Valley has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 71% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 83 times since 1960, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 51% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Spring Valley.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Spring Valley
By decade
- 2020s15
- 2010s14
- 2000s16(1 EF3+)
- 1990s18
- 1980s6
- 1970s9
- 1960s20(4 EF3+)
- 1950s4(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 1968 | F5 | 15 mi | 62.1 mi | 13 / 462 |
| May 10, 1953 | F4 | 8 mi | 162 mi | 2 / 24 |
| May 5, 1965 | F4 | 21 mi | 41.6 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Sep 16, 1962 | F4 | 20 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 34 |
| May 20, 1953 | F3 | 18 mi | 116.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2004 | F3 | 14 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 5, 1965 | F3 | 22 mi | 65.2 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Apr 12, 2022 | EF2 | 14 mi | 3.93 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 22, 2011 | EF2 | 15 mi | 28.68 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 27, 1995 | F2 | 17 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 1982 | F2 | 24 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 3, 1979 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 102, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Spring Valley
The Storm Prediction Center has 83 hail reports within 10 miles of Spring Valley since 1960, made on 57 separate days. Of these, 35 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on July 19, 1980. The most recent report is from July 2, 2025. June has the most reports, 24.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Spring Valley
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Grand Meadow, MN, 10 miles west of Spring Valley at 1,350 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 79°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 21°F and 5°F. June is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.9 inches; the year adds up to 37.6 inches over 68 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 4 days a year, almost all from June to July. Lows fall below freezing on about 171 nights a year. Snowfall averages 50.6 inches a year, most of it in December. That 37.6 inches is more than at 121 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (98%). Preston, 13 miles east, has its own station (Preston, MN): 36.8 inches a year, 0.8 less than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 79°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21 | 5 | 1.0 | 3 | 11.0 |
| Feb | 25 | 8 | 0.9 | 2 | 10.8 |
| Mar | 38 | 20 | 1.9 | 4 | 8.5 |
| Apr | 54 | 32 | 3.9 | 7 | 2.9 |
| May | 66 | 44 | 5.1 | 9 | 0.5 |
| Jun | 76 | 56 | 5.7 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 79 | 59 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 77 | 56 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 48 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 57 | 35 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.6 |
| Nov | 41 | 23 | 1.8 | 4 | 2.5 |
| Dec | 27 | 12 | 1.3 | 4 | 13.8 |
| Year | 53 | 33 | 37.6 | 68 | 50.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Grand Meadow, MN (1,350 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 Spring Valley
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 89 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Spring Valley: 73 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 flash floods, 4 heavy rain events, 3 floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $10.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 27, 1998. June has had the most flash floods, 7 of 8. Of the 312 Minnesota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 204 have had fewer than Spring Valley.
June 8, 2008: flood 2 miles from the centre of Spring Valley — $3.9 million damage.
NWS: “Flooding was reported over the southern half of the county. Roads that were closed due to high water included Highway 63 in Spring Valley and County Highway 15.”
June 23, 2013: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Spring Valley — $3.5 million damage.
September 23, 2010: flood 4 miles from the centre of Spring Valley — $850,000 damage.
NWS: “A few county roads were closed, including County Road 28 due to flooding. Also, city roads were closed in Austin, Grand Meadow, Adams and Le Roy, while evacuations of some apartments took place near Oakland Place in Austin.”
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
Flood insurance policyholders in Spring Valley's ZIP code 55975 have filed 36 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2000, and were paid $228,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2000, with 12. 25% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 120 Minnesota cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 75 have fewer than Spring Valley.
Fillmore County, which includes Spring Valley, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 6 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 Fillmore County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Very Low for lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $17.0 million a year, the 38th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $11.9 million (70%), 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 Spring Valley
- Preston, MN13 mi
- Stewartville, MN14 mi
- Chatfield, MN15 mi
- Eyota, MN23 mi
- Riceville, IA23 mi
- Rochester, MN24 mi
- Cresco, IA25 mi
- Saint Charles, MN25 mi
- Hayfield, MN26 mi
- Byron, MN27 mi
- Austin, MN30 mi
- Kasson, MN31 mi
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