Wabasha County, Minnesota

What hazards hit Wabasha County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 160 since 1972. 56% of its hail reports since 1972 fell in May and June. 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 Wabasha County had?

NOAA records 17 tornadoes in Wabasha County from 1964 to 2026, the strongest rated EF2, with 0 deaths and 0 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 15 tornadoes whose track touched Wabasha County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 17: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); 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 Wabasha County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 17, 2026 tornado ($90,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

This tornado continued into Wabasha County from Olmsted County where it damaged one residence, some farm outbuildings, power poles, and trees before dissipating near 230th avenue.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1328884)

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 Wabasha 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?

56% of its hail reports since 1972 fell in May and June. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Wabasha County

FEMA's register lists 17 declarations that include Wabasha County: 15 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (9) 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 Wabasha County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 81 flood or flash flood records for Wabasha County from 1997 to 2024, on 64 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Wabasha County ranks 1048th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $3.4 million on 162 claims filed in Wabasha County; the most in one year was 36 in 2010. 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 Wabasha County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Wabasha County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $17.5 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 Wabasha County

1. Olmsted County 1,083
2. Winona County 762
3. Wabasha County 600
4. Goodhue County 583
5. Buffalo County, WI 511
6. Pepin County, WI 260

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 Wabasha CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Wabasha County's FEMA declarations (CSV)17 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis