Swift County, Minnesota

What hazards hit Swift County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 131 since 1996. 46% 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 Swift County had?

NOAA records 51 tornadoes in Swift County from 1952 to 2025, the strongest rated EF2, with 0 deaths and 7 injuries recorded in the county. That is 28th 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 51 tornadoes whose track touched Swift County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 51, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 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 Swift County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the May 12, 2022 thunderstorm wind ($252,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Social media pictures and video of a dairy farm damaged near Murdock.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1031044)

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 Swift 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?

46% 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 Swift County

FEMA's register lists 19 declarations that include Swift County: 15 major disasters, 4 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (8) and severe storm (6).

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 Swift County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 13 flood or flash flood records for Swift County from 1997 to 2010, on 12 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Swift County ranks 2291st of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $144,000 on 12 claims filed in Swift County; the most in one year was 7 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 Swift County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Swift County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $8.0 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 Swift County

1. Kandiyohi County 666
2. Lac qui Parle County 505
3. Pope County 491
4. Swift County 485
5. Big Stone County 481
6. Chippewa County 455
7. Stevens County 453

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 Swift CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Swift County's FEMA declarations (CSV)19 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis