NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Watkins, 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 Watkins, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 87 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 87
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Watkins
The highest rating among the 87 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on July 1, 1997, came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an F1 on May 15, 1998, killed 1 person. Of the 87, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 39 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 29. The most recent tornado was on May 15, 2025. Watkins has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 51% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 74 times since 1963, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 60% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Watkins.
Compare Watkins's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Watkins
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s15
- 2000s17
- 1990s21(2 EF3+)
- 1980s6(1 EF3+)
- 1970s6
- 1960s10
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3, 1980 | F3 | 20 mi | 3.8 mi | 1 / 15 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F3 | 24 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F3 | 18 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jul 22, 1967 | F2 | 18 mi | 16.4 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Jul 11, 2016 | EF2 | 1 mi | 2.22 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 11, 2016 | EF2 | 10 mi | 3.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F2 | 25 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 26, 1996 | F2 | 22 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 16, 1992 | F2 | 18 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 1981 | F2 | 23 mi | 2.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 1958 | F2 | 21 mi | 13.3 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 15, 1998 | F1 | 24 mi | 9 mi | 1 / 30 |
The strongest 12 of 87, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Watkins
The Storm Prediction Center has 74 hail reports within 10 miles of Watkins since 1963, made on 46 separate days. Of these, 33 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.25 inches, fell on July 17, 2010. The most recent report is from August 15, 2025. June has the most reports, 30.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Watkins
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Litchfield, MN, 12 miles southwest of Watkins at 1,120 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 20°F and 0°F. June is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 30.0 inches. Highs reach 90°F on about 7 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 168 nights a year. That 30.0 inches is more than at 55 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (44%). Richmond, 12 miles north, has its own station (Collegeville St John'S, MN): 31.1 inches a year, 1.1 more than here, and the same July average high, 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 20 | 0 | 0.8 |
| Feb | 25 | 4 | 0.8 |
| Mar | 37 | 17 | 1.5 |
| Apr | 53 | 32 | 2.7 |
| May | 67 | 45 | 3.7 |
| Jun | 77 | 56 | 4.6 |
| Jul | 81 | 60 | 3.8 |
| Aug | 79 | 58 | 4.1 |
| Sep | 71 | 48 | 3.0 |
| Oct | 56 | 34 | 2.6 |
| Nov | 40 | 21 | 1.4 |
| Dec | 26 | 7 | 1.0 |
| Year | 53 | 32 | 30.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Litchfield, MN (1,120 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 Watkins
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 40 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Watkins: 35 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 heavy rain events, 1 flash flood and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $21.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 119 mph, on June 11, 2001.
June 11, 2001: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Watkins — $21.0 million damage.
July 15, 2011: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Watkins — $125,000 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
Meeker County, which includes Watkins, has been named in 11 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 7, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Meeker County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.9 million a year, the 50th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.7 million (48%), 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.