NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Willmar, 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 Willmar, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 99 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 99
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Willmar
The strongest of the 99 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF3 on July 11, 2008; its path came within 3 miles. Of the 99, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 60 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 33. The most recent tornado was on July 15, 2024. Willmar has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 67% of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 78 times since 1966, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 341 Minnesota cities, 56% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Willmar.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Willmar
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s22
- 2000s25(1 EF3+)
- 1990s16
- 1980s4
- 1970s7
- 1960s9
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 11, 2008 | EF3 | 3 mi | 7.98 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 11, 2016 | EF2 | 24 mi | 3.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2001 | F2 | 24 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 23, 1981 | F2 | 24 mi | 6.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 1952 | F2 | 21 mi | 8.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 14, 2020 | EF1 | 14 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 19, 2017 | EF1 | 19 mi | 12.59 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2017 | EF1 | 7 mi | 1.63 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 16, 2015 | EF1 | 23 mi | 3.07 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 1, 2011 | EF1 | 20 mi | 2.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 2009 | EF1 | 7 mi | 6.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 9, 2003 | F1 | 7 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 99, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Willmar
The Storm Prediction Center has 78 hail reports within 10 miles of Willmar since 1966, made on 56 separate days. Of these, 46 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 9, 2022. The most recent report is from May 9, 2022. June has the most reports, 23.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Willmar
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Willmar Wwtp, MN, in Willmar at 1,100 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 21°F and 3°F. June is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 28.6 inches over 56 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 8 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 166 nights a year. Snowfall averages 46.1 inches a year, most of it in December. That 28.6 inches is more than at 35 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (28%). Spicer, 10 miles northeast, has its own station (New London, MN): 31.5 inches a year, 2.9 more than here, and the same July average high, 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21 | 3 | 0.7 | 3 | 9.2 |
| Feb | 26 | 6 | 0.7 | 2 | 7.8 |
| Mar | 38 | 20 | 1.4 | 4 | 6.9 |
| Apr | 54 | 34 | 2.6 | 5 | 3.8 |
| May | 68 | 47 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 58 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 62 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 59 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 50 | 2.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 57 | 37 | 2.4 | 5 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 40 | 24 | 1.4 | 3 | 7.8 |
| Dec | 26 | 10 | 0.8 | 3 | 10.1 |
| Year | 53 | 34 | 28.6 | 56 | 46.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Willmar Wwtp, MN (1,100 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 Willmar
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 77 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Willmar: 63 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 heavy rain events, 3 flash floods, 2 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 78 mph, on July 1, 1997.
June 28, 1997: thunderstorm wind in Willmar — 1 injured.
NWS: “Large tree blown onto hood of car. One passenger injured.”
June 11, 2017: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Willmar — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “A large grain bin was blown down near Svea. There were also several turkey barns with roofs blown off.”
May 12, 2022: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Willmar — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “A large portion of a turkey barn sheet metal roof was ripped off and blown up to 100 yards away. The flying debris also damaged nearby homes.”
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
Kandiyohi County, which includes Willmar, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 4 floods, 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 Kandiyohi County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for hail; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $17.7 million a year, the 34th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.4 million (42%), 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 Willmar
- Spicer, MN10 mi
- Atwater, MN12 mi
- New London, MN15 mi
- Clara City, MN19 mi
- Belgrade, MN24 mi
- Olivia, MN24 mi
- Renville, MN24 mi
- Paynesville, MN25 mi
- Litchfield, MN25 mi
- Eden Valley, MN27 mi
- Benson, MN29 mi
- Watkins, MN32 mi
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