Otter Tail County, Minnesota

What hazards hit Otter Tail County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 460 since 1956. 60% of its hail reports since 1956 fell in June and July. The rank column places the county among Minnesota's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Otter Tail County had?

NOAA records 87 tornadoes in Otter Tail County from 1955 to 2025, the strongest rated EF4, with 3 deaths and 40 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 89 tornadoes whose track touched Otter Tail County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 87: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 3 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Minnesota.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Otter Tail County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the May 30, 2022 tornado ($151,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

This tornado was wrapped in damaging downburst winds and rain as it rapidly tracked to the north northeast, into and across Big Pine Lake. Numerous poplar, ash, spruce, and pine trees were snapped or uprooted. One garage had an overhead door blown in and the back wall blown out, though the roof remained intact. Peak wind estimated to 100 mph. Time estimated based on radar.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1034156)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Otter Tail County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

60% of its hail reports since 1956 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Otter Tail County

FEMA's register lists 17 declarations that include Otter Tail County: 14 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (7) and severe storm (5).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Otter Tail County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 50 flood or flash flood records for Otter Tail County from 1998 to 2020, on 37 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Otter Tail County ranks 1267th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.4 million on 109 claims filed in Otter Tail County; the most in one year was 46 in 2011. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Otter Tail County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Otter Tail County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $37.7 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Otter Tail County

1. Otter Tail County 1,515
2. Becker County 951
3. Clay County 823
4. Wilkin County 649
5. Douglas County 576
6. Grant County 537
7. Wadena County 529
8. Todd County 451

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in MinnesotaEvery Minnesota tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Hail in MinnesotaThe state's hail reports, by county, year and month
• The Minnesota recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Otter Tail CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Otter Tail County's FEMA declarations (CSV)17 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis