Cambridge
Population 11,090 (2025)
66 tornadoes have tracked within 25 miles of Cambridge since 1950, 3 of them rated EF3 or F3 or stronger; the most recent was on August 29, 2024.
Hazard fingerprint Each spoke is this county’s percentile among U.S. counties where that hazard occurs. How it is computed
- Tornado damage paths within 25 miles since 195066
- Wildfire burn scars within 25 miles since 198428
At a glance
Tornado paths within 25 miles, tropical cyclone tracks within 100 miles and wildfire perimeters within 25 miles of the city centre. Storm events, flood insurance claims and disaster declarations are for Isanti County. Earthquakes within 50 miles, volcanoes within 100 miles and smoke days are measured from the city centre; river and tide gauges, tsunami and landslide records and the drought index are for Isanti County.
Strongest tornado
F4
June 19, 1951, 52.6 mile path
Snowiest season
83.3in
Winter of 2022-23
Tornadoes
About one every 1.2 years since 1950, 3 of them rated F3/EF3 or stronger.
Strongest
June 19, 1951
F4, 52.6 mile path
330 yards wide; 1 killed along the whole path.
Most recent
Thursday, August 29, 2024
EF1, 9.6 mile path
2 years ago.
Every recorded tornado
| Aug 29, 2024 | EF1 | 9.6 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 29, 2024 | EF1 | 3.6 | 0 | 0 |
| May 11, 2022 | EF0 | 3.2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 18, 2020 | EF0 | 1.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 17, 2020 | EF1 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 21, 2019 | EF0 | 1.2 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 26, 2019 | EF1 | 2.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 7, 2018 | EF0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 12, 2017 | EF0 | 0.6 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 12, 2017 | EF1 | 10.7 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 12, 2017 | EF0 | 12.6 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 6, 2017 | EF1 | 8.8 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 21, 2013 | EF0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 30, 2011 | EF0 | 5.2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 5, 2011 | EF0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| May 22, 2011 | EF0 | 2.6 | 0 | 0 |
| May 22, 2011 | EF0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 17, 2010 | EF2 | 7.8 | 2 | 0 |
| Aug 19, 2009 | EF0 | 0.9 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 19, 2009 | EF0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 16, 2006 | F2 | 8.0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 21, 2005 | F0 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 11, 2005 | F0 | 8.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 11, 2005 | F0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 8, 2004 | F0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| May 30, 2004 | F0 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 18, 2004 | F0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 14, 2003 | F0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 24, 2003 | F0 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 25, 2002 | F1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 18, 2001 | F1 | 8.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 9, 1999 | F0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 9, 1999 | F0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 9, 1999 | F0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F0 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 1, 1997 | F1 | 10.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 26, 1996 | F1 | 12.0 | 1 | 0 |
| Sep 21, 1996 | F0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 21, 1995 | F1 | 13.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 21, 1995 | F0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 21, 1995 | F1 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 21, 1995 | F1 | 8.0 | 3 | 0 |
| Jul 21, 1995 | F2 | 10.0 | 0 | 0 |
| May 30, 1994 | F0 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Apr 29, 1991 | F0 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 12, 1989 | F0 | 10.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 20, 1987 | F0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 5, 1986 | F0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 20, 1986 | F1 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 3, 1983 | F4 | 1.0 | 4 | 0 |
| Jun 13, 1983 | F0 | 0.8 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 28, 1981 | F1 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 13, 1981 | F2 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 1, 1973 | F0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 18, 1971 | F1 | 1.9 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 18, 1970 | F1 | 1.0 | 2 | 0 |
| Jun 10, 1968 | F1 | 0.3 | 2 | 1 |
| Jul 10, 1966 | F0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 17, 1965 | F1 | 3.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jul 12, 1965 | F2 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| May 18, 1962 | F1 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 |
| May 21, 1957 | F4 | 9.2 | 2 | 0 |
| Sep 16, 1955 | F1 | 10.4 | 0 | 1 |
| Jun 17, 1954 | F1 | 3.8 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 19, 1951 | F4 | 52.6 | 20 | 1 |
- Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
- 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.
Hurricanes and tropical storms
No tropical storm or hurricane has tracked within 100 miles since records began in 1851.
Wildfire and smoke
28 large fires burned within 25 miles since 1984.
Largest
April 30, 2002
Unit 4 Fire, 5,879 acres
24.8 miles from the city centre.
Most recent
April 27, 2009
Unit 23 24 26 Fire
1,635 acres in total.
Every large fire
| Unit 23 24 26 | 2009 | 22.8 | 1,635 |
| Unnamed | 2009 | 19.6 | 2,899 |
| Unnamed | 2006 | 23.0 | 577 |
| Unit 12 E | 2006 | 24.6 | 1,070 |
| Wui Unit 16 | 2004 | 22.5 | 1,592 |
| Units 37 38 39 A | 2003 | 20.5 | 4,878 |
| Units 34 33 W | 2003 | 22.6 | 2,646 |
| Unit 4 | 2002 | 24.8 | 5,879 |
| Unit 17 | 2001 | 21.9 | 810 |
| Unnamed | 2000 | 21.4 | 1,849 |
| Unnamed | 2000 | 21.8 | 531 |
| Unit 25 | 2000 | 21.1 | 3,409 |
| Units 3133 | 1998 | 24.1 | 551 |
| Units 1617 | 1998 | 21.6 | 4,651 |
| Big | 1997 | 22.8 | 2,983 |
| Unnamed | 1996 | 21.3 | 1,904 |
| Unit 16 | 1995 | 22.5 | 1,559 |
| Antler | 1995 | 22.7 | 1,603 |
| Unnamed | 1995 | 23.3 | 789 |
| Helitorch | 1993 | 23.2 | 1,039 |
| Sharptail | 1992 | 22.6 | 2,278 |
| Unit 25 | 1992 | 22.1 | 1,462 |
| Unit 20 | 1990 | 22.9 | 1,026 |
| Cty Rd 5 | 1990 | 24.7 | 735 |
| Unit 17 | 1989 | 21.8 | 680 |
| Unnamed | 1987 | 22.9 | 606 |
| Unnamed | 1987 | 22.7 | 1,275 |
| Unit 37 | 1985 | 21.5 | 506 |
- 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
Smokiest year
2023: 79 days
Heavy smoke on 27 days in 2021, the most of any year.
Last 10 years
30.5 days a year
Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.
2025
23 days
Medium or heavy smoke. 45 so far in 2026.
- 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.
Floods and flood insurance
26 federal flood insurance claims since 1990, with $226,000 paid.
Flood insurance figures are for Isanti County, the county that contains Cambridge.
Most claims in one year
2001: 7 claims
$102,000 paid.
Claims by ZIP code
| 55040 | 14 | $106,000 |
| 55371 | 6 | $40,000 |
Flood events since 1996
- Heavy Rain10
- Flash Flood5
- Flood2
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.
Drought
In severe drought or worse for 142 of 1,581 months since 1895 (9%); the longest spell lasted 23 months.
The drought index is for Isanti County, the county that contains Cambridge.
142
Months in severe drought or worse since 1895
62
Months in extreme drought
9%
Share of all months, severe or worse
Lowest reading
August 1934
−8.02, extreme drought
Longest severe spell
23 months
June 1987 to April 1989.
Latest month
September 2026
−3.14, severe drought
- 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.
Earthquakes and landslides
No earthquake of magnitude 2.5 or more is recorded within 50 miles of the city centre in the USGS catalogue, which begins in 1900.
Mapped landslides
Landslides mapped in Isanti County.
2
Landslides mapped, probable or better
0
With a recorded date
1
Source inventory
Mapped by USGS MN (2).
- Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.
USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.
Severe weather and other events
362 events in the National Weather Service record for Isanti County, 338 of them since 1996.
61
Hail reports, 1 inch or larger
6
Hail, 2 inches or larger
86
Damaging gusts, 58 mph+
90
Winter weather events since 1996
12
Heat events since 1996
23
Cold events since 1996
Largest hail
May 17, 1996
2.50 inches
Strongest measured or estimated gust
August 26, 2024
85 mph
More event types since 1996
| Lightning | 1 | 0 |
| Dense fog and smoke | 1 | 0 |
Costliest events since 1996
- Jul 18, 2020Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
National Weather Service narrative
A NWS Storm Survey indicated that numerous trees were blown down across north central and northeast Isanti County. The damage was in a swath about two miles wide. The hardest hit areas were west of Stanchfield, through the town, and to the east of Stanchfield. Several large sheds were also damaged in this area.
- Jun 18, 2001Tornado$200,000
National Weather Service narrative
NWS damage survey indicated tornado trekked from 2 miles E of Day to the northeastern corner of Braham, exiting Isanti county at 1835 CST, and then headed into Kanabec county. Two barns were brought down, a dozen outbuildings damaged. Trees toppled, a few sheds were smashed, and siding was ripped off houses in the northwestern side of Braham.
- Jul 1, 1997Flash Flood$100,000
National Weather Service narrative
Estimate of four inches of rain in less than one hour. Major damage to wastewater treatment facility under construction.
- May 30, 2022Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
National Weather Service narrative
In addition to a trained spotter measured wind speed of 63 MPH east of Cambridge, several large trees were blown over at the Pine Village Mobile Home Park in Cambridge.
- Jun 18, 2001Hail$50,000
National Weather Service narrative
Numerous cars, windows, roofs and siding damaged.
- Jul 17, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
National Weather Service narrative
Bleachers blown over. Portion of Walmart greenhouse ripped off and destroyed.
- Aug 26, 2018Hail$50,000
National Weather Service narrative
A swath of large hail, up to golf ball size, continued into Isanti County from west of Day, to the far northeast corner near Braham. Vehicles were reported damage from the hail stones.
- May 30, 2022Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
National Weather Service narrative
Several trees blew down near Braham, including damage to an outbuilding.
- Aug 12, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
- Jul 30, 2011Tornado$50,000
National Weather Service narrative
An EF-0 tornado continued southeast across northwest Isanti County, before turning directly south along County Road 58 west of Dalbo, and north of Carmody, Minnesota. The tornado ended less than a half mile north of South Stanchfield Lake. The most intense damage occurred along County Road 58 where concentrated tree damage was present, along with a resident garage which was shifted off its foundation. Another resident had small structure damage to shingles or roof damage. Two trailers at this residences slid a short distance, while one of the trailers flipped over. Maximum wind speeds were 70 to 80 mph along with a path length of approximately 5 miles.
- 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.
Weather records
From Grantsburg, 29.9 miles from the city centre, with records from 1950.
- All-time high
- 105°FJul 16, 2006
- All-time low
- −44°FJan 14, 1965
- Warmest night
- 78°F4 times, most recently Jul 18, 2011
- Coldest day
- −21°FJan 20, 1985
- Wettest day
- 7.83 inOct 5, 2005
- Snowiest day
- 17.0 in2 times, most recently Apr 17, 2014
- Hottest year
- 2024mean 47.2°F
- Coldest year
- 1951mean 38.3°F
- Wettest year
- 196845.08 in
- Driest year
- 197618.77 in
- Snowiest season
- 83.3 in2022-23
Median first snow
November 9
Earliest: October 10, 2009
Median last snow
April 9
Latest: May 8, 2010
0 of 57 winters had no measurable snow.
Station Grantsburg (USW00014995), 990 ft elevation, 29.9 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1950 to March 31, 2026; 96.2% 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.
Federal disaster declarations
10 since 1953. The most recent: Covid-19 Pandemic, April 7, 2020.
Declarations for Isanti County.
| Apr 7, 2020 | Biological | DR-4531-MN |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | EM-3453-MN |
| Jul 28, 2011 | Severe Storm | DR-4009-MN |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Hurricane | EM-3242-MN |
| May 16, 2001 | Flood | DR-1370-MN |
| Aug 25, 1997 | Severe Storm | DR-1187-MN |
| Jun 17, 1976 | Drought | EM-3013-MN |
| Aug 1, 1972 | Flood | DR-347-MN |
| Apr 18, 1969 | Flood | DR-255-MN |
| Apr 11, 1965 | Flood | DR-188-MN |
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.
Sources and vintage
Every number on this page comes from these public records.
- 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 USW00014995.
- 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.
- Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
- 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.