Red Lake County, Minnesota

What hazards hit Red Lake County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 114 since 1996. 49% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. 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 Red Lake County had?

NOAA records 20 tornadoes in Red Lake County from 1967 to 2016, the strongest rated EF3, with 0 deaths and 1 injury recorded in the county. That is 44th of 87 Minnesota counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. 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 20 tornadoes whose track touched Red Lake County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 20, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person, 0 of them in Red Lake County.

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 Red Lake County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 23, 2022 flash flood ($252,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Portions of County Road 92, between Plummer and Red Lake Falls were closed off due to debris jams and flooding along the Clearwater River. The Clearwater River at Plummer rose over 6 feet by the evening of the 23rd, due to the combination of a rapid snowmelt and from 1 to 2 inches of rainfall in the river basin.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1034676)

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

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 Red Lake 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?

49% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Red Lake County

FEMA's register lists 23 declarations that include Red Lake County: 20 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (14) and severe storm (4).

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 Red Lake County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 20 flood or flash flood records for Red Lake County from 1997 to 2022, on 15 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Red Lake County ranks 2756th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $8,241 on 2 claims filed in Red Lake County; the most in one year was 1 in 1983. 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 Red Lake County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Red Lake County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $3.3 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 Red Lake County

1. Polk County 1,469
2. Red Lake County 441
3. Pennington County 430

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
• Winter storms in MinnesotaThe state's winter storm records, 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 Red Lake CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Red Lake County's FEMA declarations (CSV)23 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis