Minnesota winter storms
Every recorded winter storm record since 1996 · 87 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 12,156 winter storm records in Minnesota from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 397 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the December 10, 2010 blizzard: 3 deaths and $24.8 million in damage in 2025 dollars across 4 records. Minnesota ranks 3rd of 51 states and territories by count and 21st of 50 per square mile.
Winter storms in Minnesota, 1996 to 2026
Winter storm records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 12,1561996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 397average
- Deaths
- 63209 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $151Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2019730 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are winter storm records common in Minnesota?
Minnesota averages about 397 winter storm records a year since 2000, 3rd of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2019 (730). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Minnesota records 1527 winter storm records since 1996, 21st of 50 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in Minnesota have the most winter storm records?
Per square mile, Ramsey County leads Minnesota: 107 days with a winter storm record since 1996, 702.8 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, St. Louis County has the most winter storm records (511 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is winter storm season in Minnesota?
43% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The busiest month is December (2,838 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 2,417 · Feb 2,170 · Mar 2,156 · Apr 1,174 · May 24 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 267 · Nov 1,110 · Dec 2,838 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest winter storm records in Minnesota?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-12-10 | BlizzardRice County · forecast zone Rice One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. A storm system began to organize across the Upper Midwest Friday afternoon, and intensified late Friday night and into Saturday as it moved across northern Iowa. This storm system produced snowfall amounts in excess of one foot in many locations across east central Minnesota, and into west central Wisconsin. Some of ... | 3 | 0 | $25M | |
| 2006-11-26 | Winter WeatherMurray County · forecast zone Murray One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. Freezing rain the evening of November 26th through the morning of November 27th caused light ice accumulations of a tenth of an inch or less. The freezing rain made roads and other surfaces icy, resulting in numerous traffic accidents. Fatalities resulted from two of the accidents. | 2 | 7 | – | |
| 2006-12-31 | Winter StormPine County · forecast zone Pine One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Strong low pressure moving from the southern plains through eastern Wisconsin brought copious amounts of precipitation to northeastern Minnesota December 30th and 31st. A warm surge of deep tropical moisture preceded the storm, and brought rainfall totals that exceeded 1 inch in places. Freezing rain accumulated to a ... | 2 | 6 | – | |
| 2016-02-01 | Winter WeatherWinona County · forecast zone Winona Two people were killed and another injured in a two car accident on U.S. Highway 61 south of La Moille. Snowmelt from the previous day likely froze on a cold section of highway that is shaded by trees and bluffs. Two other accidents, with non-life threatening injuries, also occurred on another section of U.S. Highway ... | 2 | 3 | $10K | |
| 2021-11-11 | Heavy SnowSt. Louis County · forecast zone Central St. Louis Heavier than expected snow led to snow and ice covered roads along the Iron Range. This lead to a multi-vehicle accident near Gilbert that resulted in two fatalities (indirect) and at least two injuries (indirect) from one vehicle. The occupants of the other vehicles in the wreck were not injured or had non-life ... | 2 | 2 | – | |
| 2020-02-12 | Winter WeatherMower County · forecast zone Mower Two people were killed and two more were injured in a single vehicle accident on Interstate 90 near Dexter. Light snow fell during the evening of February 12th followed by northwest winds of 15 to 25 mph into the morning of the 13th. This created some blowing and drifting snow and caused icy conditions to develop on ... | 2 | 2 | $15K | |
| 2009-10-12 | Winter WeatherNobles County · forecast zone Nobles Snow accumulated 1 to 3 inches, causing slippery roads which resulted in several vehicle accidents. One head on collision resulted in two fatalities. | 2 | 1 | – | |
| 2018-02-03 | Winter WeatherCarlton County and St. Louis County · forecast zone Southern St. Louis / Carlton A vehicle lost control on ice-covered Interstate 35 and rolled in the median near Cloquet about mid morning. A male who was not wearing a seat belt was transported to an area hospital where he succumbed to his injuries a few days later. Another crash occurred later in the afternoon around 4:15 PM when a vehicle lost ... | 2 | 1 | – | |
| 2008-02-09 | Winter WeatherMower County · forecast zone Mower A nine-vehicle crash occurred on Interstate 90 in the northeast part of Mower County. Law enforcement officials reported near white-out conditions at the time of the accident. Winds were gusting to around 45 mph and causing considerable blowing snow. Six people were injured and a five month old girl died a week later ... | 1 | 6 | $27K | |
| 2018-03-26 | Heavy SnowCass County · forecast zone Southern Cass One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Snow fell over the forecast area most of the day and evening of the 26th. The heaviest snow fell in a band from southern Cass County through the rest of Cass County, northern Crow Wing County, Itasca County, and into central and northern St. Louis County. Snowfall in this are ranged from 6 to 8 inches. Specific snow ... | 1 | 6 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest winter storm records in Minnesota
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-04-09 | Winter StormNobles County · forecast zone Nobles One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $65M | |
| 2010-12-10 | BlizzardRice County · forecast zone Rice One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 3 | 0 | $25M | |
| 2018-04-15 | Winter StormCarlton County and St. Louis County · forecast zone Southern St. Louis / Carlton | 0 | 0 | $11M | |
| 1996-11-14 | Ice StormMurray County · forecast zone Murray One storm episode: 8 records in 8 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $9.4M | |
| 1997-04-05 | BlizzardPolk County · forecast zone West Polk One storm episode: 5 records in 5 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 3 | $9.2M | |
| 2001-04-22 | Ice StormCarlton County and St. Louis County · forecast zone Southern St. Louis / Carlton | 0 | 0 | $7.0M | |
| 2019-04-10 | Ice StormJackson County · forecast zone Jackson One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places, 2019-04-10 to 2019-04-11; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $6.6M | |
| 1997-04-04 | Ice StormPolk County · forecast zone West Polk One storm episode: 9 records in 8 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $3.7M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are winter storm records becoming more frequent in Minnesota?
Minnesota's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | Minnesota | United States | Minnesota's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 1,437 | 32,893 | 4.4% |
| 2000s | 3,348 | 88,805 | 3.8% |
| 2010s | 4,230 | 103,626 | 4.1% |
| 2020-26 | 3,141 | 62,015 | 5.1% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent winter storm records in Minnesota
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-08 | Winter WeatherItasca County · forecast zone Northern Itasca | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-08 | Winter WeatherItasca County · forecast zone Northern Itasca | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-08 | Winter WeatherKoochiching County · forecast zone Koochiching | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Winter StormDouglas County · forecast zone Douglas | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Winter StormTodd County · forecast zone Todd | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Winter StormMorrison County · forecast zone Morrison | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Heavy SnowBeltrami County · forecast zone South Beltrami | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Heavy SnowBeltrami County · forecast zone North Beltrami | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Heavy SnowRed Lake County · forecast zone Red Lake | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Heavy SnowPolk County · forecast zone East Polk | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Heavy SnowPolk County · forecast zone West Polk | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Heavy SnowPennington County · forecast zone Pennington | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for winter storm records in Minnesota
FEMA has declared 10 disasters in Minnesota for winter storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name snow or winter storm or ice storm or blizzard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 10 were major disasters, the latest on June 12, 2019.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-06-12 | DR-4442 | Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 55 |
| 2013-05-03 | DR-4113 | Severe Winter Storm | 5 |
| 2006-01-04 | DR-1622 | Severe Winter Storm | 9 |
| 2001-05-16 | DR-1370 | Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, and Tornadoes | 72 |
| 1999-08-26 | DR-1288 | Severe Ice Storm and Flooding | 7 |
| 1997-01-16 | DR-1158 | Severe Winter Storms | 55 |
| 1997-01-07 | DR-1151 | Severe Ice Storm | 12 |
| 1996-01-05 | DR-1078 | High Winds, Freezing Rain, Heavy Snowfall | 4 |
| 1991-12-26 | DR-929 | Ice Storm | 12 |
| 1978-04-22 | DR-555 | Storms, Ice Jams, Snowmelt & Flooding | 10 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Ramsey County: the county's whole recordThe Minnesota county with the most winter storm records per square mile
- Winter storms across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in MinnesotaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Hail in Minnesota15,756 records
- Severe thunderstorm wind in Minnesota13,697 records
- Extreme cold in Minnesota4,238 records