NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Waseca, 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 Waseca, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 121 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 121
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
16 deaths in all
What the records show for Waseca
The highest rating among the 121 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on June 17, 2010, came within 18 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 30, 1967, killed 6 people. Of the 121, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 61 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 39. The most recent tornado was on June 25, 2025. Waseca has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 94% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 77 times since 1958, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 57% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Waseca.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Waseca
By decade
- 2020s16
- 2010s34(4 EF3+)
- 2000s11(1 EF3+)
- 1990s19
- 1980s13(2 EF3+)
- 1970s11
- 1960s13(3 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 30, 1967 | F4 | 1 mi | 20.1 mi | 6 / 22 |
| Apr 30, 1967 | F4 | 13 mi | 38.7 mi | 5 / 35 |
| Jun 17, 2010 | EF4 | 18 mi | 16.91 mi | 1 / 14 |
| Apr 30, 1967 | F3 | 12 mi | 18.4 mi | 2 / 23 |
| Aug 24, 2006 | F3 | 14 mi | 33 mi | 1 / 37 |
| Jun 17, 2010 | EF3 | 24 mi | 4.32 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 17, 2010 | EF3 | 24 mi | 5.01 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 17, 2010 | EF3 | 11 mi | 18.15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1984 | F3 | 16 mi | 14 mi | 0 / 12 |
| May 17, 1982 | F3 | 19 mi | 46 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1976 | F2 | 22 mi | 24.6 mi | 1 / 6 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 17 mi | 2.17 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 121, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Waseca
The Storm Prediction Center has 77 hail reports within 10 miles of Waseca since 1958, made on 52 separate days. Of these, 49 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 17, 2009. The most recent report is from September 21, 2025. June has the most reports, 20.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Waseca
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Waseca S Rsch & Outreach Ctr, MN, in Waseca at 1,153 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 22°F and 5°F. June is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.2 inches; the year adds up to 38.0 inches over 69 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 10 days a year, almost all from May to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 162 nights a year. Snowfall averages 52.3 inches a year, most of it in December. That 38.0 inches is more than at 122 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (98%). Owatonna, 14 miles east, has its own station (Owatonna, MN): 35.6 inches a year, 2.4 less than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22 | 5 | 1.3 | 4 | 10.7 |
| Feb | 26 | 9 | 1.2 | 3 | 10.8 |
| Mar | 39 | 22 | 2.3 | 5 | 9.0 |
| Apr | 55 | 35 | 3.3 | 7 | 3.0 |
| May | 68 | 48 | 4.5 | 9 | 0.4 |
| Jun | 78 | 59 | 5.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 61 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 59 | 4.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 50 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 59 | 37 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.7 |
| Nov | 41 | 24 | 1.9 | 4 | 5.8 |
| Dec | 28 | 12 | 1.5 | 4 | 11.9 |
| Year | 54 | 35 | 38.0 | 69 | 52.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Waseca S Rsch & Outreach Ctr, MN (1,153 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 Waseca
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 77 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Waseca: 46 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 flash floods, 11 heavy rain events and 5 floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $5.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 99 mph, on May 19, 1996. Of the 312 Minnesota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 260 have had fewer than Waseca.
May 19, 1996: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Waseca — $4.0 million damage.
September 22, 2016: flood 9 miles from the centre of Waseca — $700,000 damage.
May 11, 2022: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Waseca — $250,000 damage.
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
Waseca County, which includes Waseca, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms and Flooding, on June 28, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Waseca County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and hail; Very Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.0 million a year, the 63rd highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.1 million (34%), 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 Waseca
- Janesville, MN10 mi
- New Richland, MN12 mi
- Waterville, MN12 mi
- Owatonna, MN14 mi
- Medford, MN15 mi
- Madison Lake, MN18 mi
- Eagle Lake, MN19 mi
- Faribault, MN19 mi
- Mapleton, MN23 mi
- Mankato, MN25 mi
- Le Center, MN25 mi
- Blooming Prairie, MN25 mi
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