Watonwan County, Minnesota

What hazards hit Watonwan County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 110 since 1996. 52% 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 Watonwan County had?

NOAA records 24 tornadoes in Watonwan County from 1962 to 2026, the strongest rated F4, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. That is 15th 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 23 tornadoes whose track touched Watonwan County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 24: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person, 0 of them in Watonwan 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 Watonwan County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 20, 2019 thunderstorm wind ($577,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

St. James regional airport measured a wind gust of 78 mph. A storm survey team from the NWS determined the damage from surrounding areas was due to a downburst, with a classic fanning out pattern. Part of a roof from a turkey barn was blown off, several vehicles were blown off Highway 60, and hundreds of trees were broken or uprooted southwest to southeast of the airport. There was also significant damage to the airport's hanger.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 820312)

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 Watonwan 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?

52% 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 Watonwan County

FEMA's register lists 13 declarations that include Watonwan County: 10 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (6) 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 Watonwan County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 19 flood or flash flood records for Watonwan County from 1997 to 2024, on 18 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Watonwan County ranks 2181st of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.1 million on 16 claims filed in Watonwan County; the most in one year was 7 in 2024. 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 Watonwan County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Watonwan 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 Watonwan County

1. Cottonwood County 707
2. Jackson County 696
3. Blue Earth County 661
4. Martin County 524
5. Brown County 519
6. Watonwan County 401

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