Stearns County, Minnesota

What hazards hit Stearns County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 431 since 1955. 49% of its hail reports since 1955 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 Stearns County had?

NOAA records 57 tornadoes in Stearns County from 1953 to 2025, the strongest rated F3, with 3 deaths and 58 injuries recorded in the county. That is 41st 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 57 tornadoes whose track touched Stearns County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 57, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 4 people, 3 of them in Stearns 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 Stearns County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the August 3, 2024 tornado ($1.9 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

A tornado moved south-southeast through the west side of Melrose. The worst structural damage took place in the northwest side of town. The tornado destroyed a large metal building system and peeled the roof off of several other buildings. Portions of the roof were torn off some townhomes. Hundreds of trees were uprooted or broken. The tornado moved across a golf course, taking down many dozens of trees. In the far southern part of Melrose, more homes sustained damage and the tornado completely destroyed a large machine shed at a farm. After exiting town, the tornado moved across fields and damaged a few more farms. One turkey barn had much of its roof removed and the roof was blown off a large shed shortly before the tornado dissipated.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1190198)

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 Stearns 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 hail reports since 1955 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 Stearns County

FEMA's register lists 13 declarations that include Stearns County: 10 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (5) 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 Stearns County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 24 flood or flash flood records for Stearns County from 1997 to 2025, on 23 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Stearns County ranks 1253rd of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.1 million on 112 claims filed in Stearns County; the most in one year was 24 in 1997. 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 Stearns County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Stearns County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $78.9 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 Stearns County

1. Stearns County 1,055
2. Wright County 846
3. Kandiyohi County 666
4. Douglas County 576
5. Meeker County 532
6. Morrison County 528
7. Sherburne County 503
8. Pope County 491
9. Todd County 451
10. Benton County 349

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 Stearns CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Stearns County's FEMA declarations (CSV)13 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis