NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Wadena, 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 Wadena, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 71 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 71
- 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 Wadena
The highest rating among the 71 tornadoes within 25 miles is EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 17, 2010, came within 8 miles. Of the 71, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 46 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on June 24, 2022. Of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site, 65% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Wadena. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 96 times since 1959, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Wadena has more hail reports within 10 miles than 57% of the 341 Minnesota cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Wadena
By decade
- 2020s12
- 2010s20(2 EF3+)
- 2000s14(1 EF3+)
- 1990s3
- 1970s8
- 1960s9
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 17, 2010 | EF4 | 8 mi | 39.56 mi | 1 / 5 |
| Jun 17, 2010 | EF4 | in town | 10 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Jun 13, 2001 | F3 | 12 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 24, 2022 | EF2 | 20 mi | 30.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2022 | EF2 | 14 mi | 10.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 12, 2022 | EF2 | 7 mi | 18.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 8, 2020 | EF2 | 17 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 2015 | EF2 | 6 mi | 12.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 2008 | EF2 | 21 mi | 14.11 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 20, 2005 | F2 | 4 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 2005 | F2 | 19 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 5, 2004 | F2 | 25 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 71, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Wadena
The Storm Prediction Center has 96 hail reports within 10 miles of Wadena since 1959, made on 57 separate days. Of these, 65 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on August 3, 2024. The most recent report is from September 12, 2025. July has the most reports, 29.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Wadena
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Wadena 3 S, MN, 4 miles south of Wadena at 1,372 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 78°F and low of 58°F; January is the coolest, at 18°F and -1°F. June is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 29.4 inches over 56 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 3 days a year, almost all from July. Lows fall below freezing on about 184 nights a year. Snowfall averages 50.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 29.4 inches is more than at 48 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (39%). New York Mills, 13 miles northwest, has its own station (New York Mills, MN): 26.8 inches a year, 2.6 less than here, and a July average high of 79°F against 78°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 18 | -1 | 0.9 | 3 | 12.2 |
| Feb | 23 | 2 | 0.8 | 2 | 7.9 |
| Mar | 36 | 15 | 1.4 | 3 | 8.9 |
| Apr | 52 | 29 | 2.6 | 5 | 4.5 |
| May | 65 | 42 | 3.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 74 | 54 | 4.4 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 78 | 58 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 77 | 55 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 69 | 47 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 54 | 34 | 2.8 | 5 | 1.1 |
| Nov | 37 | 20 | 1.3 | 3 | 7.5 |
| Dec | 24 | 7 | 0.9 | 2 | 8.7 |
| Year | 50 | 30 | 29.4 | 56 | 50.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Wadena 3 S, MN (1,372 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 Wadena
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 74 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Wadena: 70 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 flash floods, 1 flood and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $1.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 110 mph, on June 20, 2005.
September 25, 1998: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Wadena — 3 injured, $500,000 damage.
June 20, 2005: thunderstorm wind in Wadena — 1 injured.
NWS: “Trees were blown down all around Wadena. Trees fell on buildings, cars, and power lines.”
September 25, 1998: thunderstorm wind in Wadena — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “A roof from an adjacent building blew into the display vehicles at a car dealership and twisted around them. A church also lost its bell tower.”
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
Wadena County, which includes Wadena, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on August 9, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Wadena County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hail, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $5.1 million a year, the 78th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.0 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 Wadena
- Verndale, MN9 mi
- New York Mills, MN13 mi
- Sebeka, MN14 mi
- Staples, MN17 mi
- Henning, MN17 mi
- Parkers Prairie, MN22 mi
- Menahga, MN22 mi
- Perham, MN23 mi
- Motley, MN25 mi
- Browerville, MN25 mi
- Battle Lake, MN29 mi
- Frazee, MN31 mi
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