Waseca County, Minnesota

What hazards hit Waseca County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 120 since 1968. 59% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1968 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 Waseca County had?

NOAA records 28 tornadoes in Waseca County from 1961 to 2024, the strongest rated F4, with 6 deaths and 25 injuries recorded in the county. That is 13th 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 28 tornadoes whose track touched Waseca County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 28, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 8 people, 6 of them in Waseca 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 Waseca County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the March 3, 2024 wildfire (3 injuries).

A grass fire near the vicinity of Snake Trail approximately four miles NE of Waseca, MN approximately at 12 PM and burned for approximately 8 hours. The fire was fully contained at 8 PM. Less than 2,000 acres burned, and no structural damage occurred. As a precaution, the fire did necessitate the evacuation of multiple residences.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1154759)

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 Waseca 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?

59% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1968 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 Waseca County

FEMA's register lists 14 declarations that include Waseca County: 12 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (6) 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 Waseca County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 29 flood or flash flood records for Waseca County from 2001 to 2025, on 17 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Waseca County ranks 2400th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $111,000 on 9 claims filed in Waseca County; the most in one year was 3 in 2016. 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 Waseca County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Waseca County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $9.0 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 Waseca County

1. Blue Earth County 661
2. Freeborn County 616
3. Rice County 571
4. Faribault County 499
5. Waseca County 492
6. Le Sueur County 440
7. Steele County 420

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
• Severe thunderstorm wind in MinnesotaThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, 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 Waseca CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Waseca County's FEMA declarations (CSV)14 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis