Austin

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Mower County, the county that contains Austin.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Mower County, the county that contains Austin.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Mower County, the county that contains Austin.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jun 27, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$3.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of intense thunderstorms swept through southeast Minnesota with two distinct downburst damage paths.The northern track hit southern Wabasha County and then passed through central Winona County hitting the city of Winona directly. Thousands of trees were knocked down from wind gusts of 70 to 90 mph, along with power lines down and sporadic property damage.The southern track was more intense and passed from Austin through Fillmore and Houston Counties before crossing into Wisconsin. The City of Austin has widespread property and tree damage with power loss to almost the entire city for over 24 hours. Many streets in town were impassable due to the downed trees and power…

2. Jun 11, 2004Tornado$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado crossed the Minnesota-Iowa state line just southwest of Le Roy (Mower County) causing considerable damage. One home right on the state line was completely destroyed, but there were no injuries or deaths. The tornado was approximately 150 yards wide at times and apparently reached F3 damage intensity right on the state line around 6:05 p.m. The tornado then started to weaken, but did heavy damage to a grain company (Koch Industries)(F2 damage) about 2 miles west of Le Roy and continued north, crossing Highway 56 just before 6:10 p.m. The tornado lifted approximately 4 miles northwest of Le Roy in open fields. There were also brief tornado touch downs (all rated F0) near…

3. Jun 17, 2009Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado caused damage on the north and northeast side of the city of Austin. Specific reports included minor tree damage, as well as debris blown into fences and bent poles on the northwest side of Austin. Several power poles were snapped off or bent along Highway 218 on the north side of the city. Several metal work buildings were heavily damaged along 243rd St, along with numerous trees and some minor roof damage to nearby homes. Large debris, such as metal dumpsters, were tossed large distances. There was straight-line wind damage noted south of the tornado path, or along Highway 218 and 4th St NW. Several homes had minor damage, with numerous trees blown over or sheared off…

4. Jun 27, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$1.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of intense thunderstorms swept through southeast Minnesota with two distinct downburst damage paths.The northern track hit southern Wabasha County and then passed through central Winona County hitting the city of Winona directly. Thousands of trees were knocked down from wind gusts of 70 to 90 mph, along with power lines down and sporadic property damage.The southern track was more intense and passed from Austin through Fillmore and Houston Counties before crossing into Wisconsin. The City of Austin has widespread property and tree damage with power loss to almost the entire city for over 24 hours. Many streets in town were impassable due to the downed trees and power…

5. Apr 12, 2022Tornado$1.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This EF2 tornado formed southwest of Taopi and quickly intensified and caused significant damage in Taopi. Most buildings were damaged and 10 were destroyed. Cars were tossed, grain bins destroyed, and numerous trees and power lines downed. Two people were injured seeking shelter from the storm when they became trapped under debris. Just outside of Taopi, part of the roof was removed from a farmhouse, several outbuildings were damaged, and several head of cattle were missing.

6. Jun 27, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of intense thunderstorms swept through southeast Minnesota with two distinct downburst damage paths.The northern track hit southern Wabasha County and then passed through central Winona County hitting the city of Winona directly. Thousands of trees were knocked down from wind gusts of 70 to 90 mph, along with power lines down and sporadic property damage.The southern track was more intense and passed from Austin through Fillmore and Houston Counties before crossing into Wisconsin. The City of Austin has widespread property and tree damage with power loss to almost the entire city for over 24 hours. Many streets in town were impassable due to the downed trees and power…

7. Jun 1, 2000Flash Flood$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   3 to 6 inches of rain fell during the night of May 31 into the morning hours of June 1, causing widespread flash flooding. Hardest hit was Spring Valley (Fillmore County), where residents of 25 homes had to be evacuated and people in 3 homes were rescued by boat. The flood was the worst in Spring Valley since 1942. Near Eitzen (Houston County), flood waters washed out a 20 foot wide, 15 foot deep section of county highway 27. Between Dexter and Austin (Mower County), Interstate 90 had to be temporarily closed due to 2 to 3 feet of water across the road. Total property damage was estimated at 4.3 million dollars, with an additional estimate of 1.2 million dollars in damage to…

8. Sep 23, 2010Flood$850,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A few county roads were closed, including County Road 28 due to flooding. Also, city roads were closed in Austin, Grand Meadow, Adams and Le Roy, while evacuations of some apartments took place near Oakland Place in Austin. The rain began around 2 p.m. CST on the 22nd and continued through 10 p.m. CST on the 23rd. However, the majority of the rain fell by 7 a.m. CST on the 23rd.

9. Apr 10, 2019Winter Weather, Mower$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   COOP and volunteer snow observers reported that 3 to 5 inches of snow fell across Mower County. In addition to the snow, a period of sleet and freezing rain occurred that coated exposed surfaces with a glaze of ice. With the coating of ice, around 100 power poles were snapped across the western sections of the county and power lines were brought down in various spots by the strong winds.

10. Jun 12, 2008Flood$600,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The Cedar River in Austin reached a crest of 22.4 feet at the waste water treatment plant and 21.4 feet 3 miles south of Austin. Both of these crests occurred on June 12 and were the third highest on record. Flood stage at the waste water treatment plant is 15.0 feet and 11.0 feet 3 miles south of Austin. In addition, Turtle and Dobbins Creek near Austin crested at 13.74 feet and 18.95 feet respectively on June 12, which were both the second highest crests on record. All-time record crests were 14.77 feet at Turtle Creek, 25.0 feet at the waste water treatment plant and 23.26 feet 3 miles south of Austin, all of which occurred on September 16, 2004. Dobbins Creek all-time record…

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

102°FJul 24, 1940

All-time low

−42°FJan 15, 1963

Warmest night

78°F3 times, most recently Jul 5, 1986

Coldest day

−19°FFeb 2, 1996

Wettest day

5.95 inJul 9, 2026

Snowiest day

16.0 inMar 19, 2005

Hottest year

1987mean 51.2°F

Coldest year

1996mean 41.1°F

Wettest year

201648.35 in

Driest year

197617.73 in

Snowiest season

76.2 in1961-62

Station Austin Waste Water Plant Facility (USC00210355), 1,199 ft elevation, 1.3 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1938 to October 28, 2026; 97.2% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Mower County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00210355.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.