Washington County, Minnesota

What hazards hit Washington County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 203 since 1962. 59% of its hail reports since 1962 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 Washington County had?

NOAA records 27 tornadoes in Washington County from 1954 to 2020, the strongest rated EF3, with 2 deaths and 25 injuries recorded in the county. That is 2nd 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 27 tornadoes whose track touched Washington County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 27, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person, 2 of them in Washington 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 Washington County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the December 23, 2022 extreme cold/wind chill (1 death).

Many hours with wind chill colder than -35 degrees observed. The strongest wind gusts occurred on 12/23 at 10:35 AM at 32 mph at the Lake Elmo Airport in Lake Elmo, MN. A 20 year old man died of cold weather exposure after leaving the bar on foot in Stillwater MN.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1064377)

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 Washington 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 hail reports since 1962 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 Washington County

FEMA's register lists 17 declarations that include Washington County: 12 major disasters, 4 emergencies and one fire management assistance declaration. Most were for flood (8) and severe storm (3).

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 Washington County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 13 flood or flash flood records for Washington County from 1997 to 2016, on 12 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Washington County ranks 480th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $5.4 million on 533 claims filed in Washington County; the most in one year was 142 in 2001. 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 Washington County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Washington County Relatively Moderate overall, with an expected annual loss of $92.7 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 Washington County

1. Dakota County 844
2. Anoka County 770
3. Ramsey County 629
4. Washington County 593
5. St. Croix County, WI 573
6. Polk County, WI 520
7. Pierce County, WI 481
8. Chisago County 364

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