NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Vadnais Heights, 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 Vadnais Heights, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 104 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 104
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
20 deaths in all
What the records show for Vadnais Heights
The highest rating among the 104 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 5 times; the most recent, on July 3, 1983, came within 15 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on May 6, 1965, killed 6 people. Of the 104, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 53 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 32. The most recent tornado was on August 29, 2024. Vadnais Heights has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 74% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 335 times since 1960, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Vadnais Heights has more hail reports within 10 miles than 93% of the 341 Minnesota cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Vadnais Heights
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s19
- 2000s21(1 EF3+)
- 1990s17
- 1980s8(4 EF3+)
- 1970s6
- 1960s11(3 EF3+)
- 1950s9(3 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 5 mi | 17.3 mi | 6 / 158 |
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 8 mi | 6.8 mi | 3 / 175 |
| Jun 19, 1951 | F4 | 16 mi | 52.6 mi | 1 / 20 |
| Jul 3, 1983 | F4 | 15 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 6, 1965 | F4 | 24 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 20, 1951 | F3 | 16 mi | 11.6 mi | 5 / 40 |
| May 25, 2008 | EF3 | 7 mi | 5.96 mi | 1 / 17 |
| Apr 26, 1984 | F3 | 6 mi | 5.5 mi | 1 / 52 |
| Jun 14, 1981 | F3 | 6 mi | 16.2 mi | 1 / 83 |
| Jul 23, 1987 | F3 | 12 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 1958 | F3 | 8 mi | 59.4 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Sep 16, 2006 | F2 | 21 mi | 8 mi | 1 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 104, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Vadnais Heights
The Storm Prediction Center has 335 hail reports within 10 miles of Vadnais Heights since 1960, made on 119 separate days. Of these, 218 were 1 inch across or larger, and 19 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on August 11, 1963. The most recent report is from August 15, 2025. May has the most reports, 109.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Vadnais Heights
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Vadnais Lake, MN, 2 miles south of Vadnais Heights at 890 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 25°F and 8°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 157 nights a year. That 33.1 inches is more than at 90 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (73%). Roseville, 6 miles southwest, has its own station (U Of Mn St Paul, MN): 32.8 inches a year, 0.3 less than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 25 | 8 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Feb | 30 | 11 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Mar | 42 | 24 | 1.5 | 4 |
| Apr | 57 | 37 | 3.1 | 6 |
| May | 69 | 50 | 4.3 | 8 |
| Jun | 79 | 60 | 4.5 | 8 |
| Jul | 83 | 64 | 4.5 | 7 |
| Aug | 81 | 62 | 4.5 | 6 |
| Sep | 73 | 54 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Oct | 59 | 42 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Nov | 43 | 28 | 1.8 | 3 |
| Dec | 30 | 16 | 1.1 | 3 |
| Year | 56 | 38 | 33.1 | 61 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Vadnais Lake, 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 Vadnais Heights
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 239 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Vadnais Heights: 196 thunderstorm wind reports, 20 heavy rain events, 19 flash floods and 4 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $5.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on July 23, 2005. June has had the most flash floods, 8 of 19. Of the 312 Minnesota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 274 have had fewer than Vadnais Heights.
July 26, 2007: heavy rain event 8 miles from the centre of Vadnais Heights — 2 killed.
August 6, 1996: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Vadnais Heights — 2 injured.
September 21, 2005: lightning strike 10 miles from the centre of Vadnais Heights — 2 injured.
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
Ramsey County, which includes Vadnais Heights, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 15 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 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 Ramsey County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves; Relatively Moderate for lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $181.4 million a year, the 2nd highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $68.5 million (38%), 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 Vadnais Heights
- Shoreview, MN3 mi
- White Bear Lake, MN3 mi
- New Brighton, MN5 mi
- Maplewood, MN6 mi
- Roseville, MN6 mi
- Lino Lakes, MN6 mi
- Mahtomedi, MN6 mi
- Hugo, MN7 mi
- Saint Paul, MN8 mi
- Columbia Heights, MN8 mi
- Fridley, MN8 mi
- Oakdale, MN9 mi
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