Brainerd

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.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

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 Crow Wing County, the county that contains Brainerd.

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 Crow Wing County, the county that contains Brainerd.

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 Crow Wing County, the county that contains Brainerd.

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.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jul 13, 1997Lightning$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   According to a deputy state fire marshall, lightning caused a fire that destroyed a landmark restaurant on Gull Lake. No one was injured.

2. Sep 25, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous roofs were damaged, and many trees and power lines were blown down. Power was out for three days in some areas. The wind speed was estimated by spotters as being between 80 and 100 mph.

3. Jun 12, 2024Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado redeveloped near Wolford, from the same storm that produced the first tornado near Crosslake. Initial damage located along County Road 30, south of County Highway 11/Mississippi River, mostly trees snapped and uprooted. Tornado continued east- southeast across Rabbit Lake just north of Cuyuna and then towards Highway 210. Damage along the western shore of Rabbit Lake affected private residences with a RV flipped over, roof covering material partially removed, and numerous trees snapped which lead to secondary home damage, including several collapsed out- buildings and garages. The tornado crossed Highway 210 near mile marker 145, as evidenced by both tree damage and…

4. Jun 19, 2012Flood$634,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Mississippi River at Fort Ripley rose to its 10 foot flood stage at 11:00 PM CST June 19th. The Mississippi River crested at 12.42 feet at 8:00 AM CST on June 25th. The river remained at 11.68 feet, above flood stage, through the end of June. As a result of the Mississippi River flooding, many tributaries became backed up and flooded. Parts of Crow Wing State Park were flooded, included the picnic areas, trails and the boat landing. The boat landing was reopened on July 24th. The Black Bear and Miller Lakes neighborhoods was flooded. Numerous roads and bridges were damaged across Crow Wing County.

5. Jun 12, 2024Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado developed over Upper Whitefish Lake (no tornadic damage found or reported on the northwestern shore indicating the tornado touched down on land before crossing the lake) and traveled southeast towards Pelican Lake. Extensive damage to private residences and forest along Old Whiskey Road and Ruttger Rd (referred to by locals as ���Tip Top Point���) and across Bertha and Clamshell Lake towards the far eastern reach of Whitefish Golf Club���s holes. Damage path was the widest near Old Whiskey and Ruttger Road, around 700 yards across, with tree damage even identified on the island to the north of Old Whiskey Road. Over 80% of trees were uprooted or snapped…

6. Jul 7, 2002Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   High water caused $254,750 in road damage.

7. Aug 31, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A microburst approaching 100 mph hit Brainerd, damaging several buildings and knocking down numerous trees.

8. Aug 20, 2019Lightning$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A house was struck by a positive bolt of lightning which caused a fire that began in the basement. Fire crews were on the scene for about 3 hours and reported a lot of smoke and water damage, all electronics destroyed, holes through the roof and floors, complete loss of the mechanical room and part of the kitchen, making the house most likely a total loss.

9. May 23, 2012Lightning$140,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Two homes were completely destroyed by the lightning-induced fires.

10. Feb 18, 2022Winter Weather, Crow Wing$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Snow Squall. Wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph along with fresh snow and falling snow led to a snow squall along Minnesota Highway 371 in western Crow Wing County around noon. The squall moved off Gull Lake and over the roadway leading to near zero visibility. This sudden change in conditions resulted in a chain reaction wreck that involved 23 vehicles, including three semi-trailers. Three people were taken to a local hospital due to injuries sustained in the wreck. The road remained closed for much of the afternoon while cleanup was taking place.

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°F2 times, most recently Sep 4, 2023

All-time low

−54°FFeb 2, 1996

Warmest night

75°F3 times, most recently Jul 19, 2011

Coldest day

−20°FJan 15, 1972

Wettest day

4.76 inJul 8, 2002

Snowiest day

24.0 inMar 4, 1985

Hottest year

2024mean 45.3°F

Coldest year

1989mean 36.7°F

Wettest year

201639.79 in

Driest year

197613.16 in

Snowiest season

88.8 in2022-23

Station Brainerd (USC00210939), 1,180 ft elevation, 1.0 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1908 to October 28, 2026; 98.3% 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 Crow Wing 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 USC00210939.
• 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.