Detroit Lakes

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 Becker County, the county that contains Detroit Lakes.

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.

The drought index is for Becker County, the county that contains Detroit Lakes.

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. Jul 29, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A two stall garage was demolished and the contents strewn downwind due to downburst winds. Nearby roofs received shingle or roofing damage and numerous trees were snapped or toppled over from northeast Carsonville into northern Osage Township.

2. Jul 11, 2017Thunderstorm Wind$450,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Large trees and power lines were blown down. Wind driven hail damaged fields and buildings.

3. Jul 11, 2017Thunderstorm Wind$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The wind gust was measured by a RAWS station. Numerous trees were snapped near Floyd Lake. One 24x40 foot shed was lifted and collapsed.

4. Jul 11, 2017Thunderstorm Wind$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous large trees were snapped or uprooted around Lake Sallie, Lake Melissa, and the greater Detroit Lakes area. Roads were blocked by fallen trees and power lines were blown down.

5. Jun 11, 2008High Wind, West Becker$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   High wind gusts flattened trees near Audubon Lake. Sustained winds of 50 mph with gusts to 58 mph were measured at the MNDOT RWIS site east of Lake Park along U.S. Highway 10.

6. Jul 4, 2010Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Street flooding occurred in Detroit Lakes. Roosevelt Avenue was barricaded due to water over the roadway, mainly on the north side of U. S. Highway 10. About 12 miles east-northeast of Detroit Lakes, rushing water washed out a culvert along highway 34. A nearby house also got water in its basement.

7. Jun 12, 2008Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado tracked intermittently for nearly 8 miles to around 6 miles west of Lake George by 9 pm CDT. The tornado travelled for about 3 miles and crossed into Clearwater County about 7 miles north-northwest of Two Inlets by 850 pm CDT. It continued across extreme southeast Clearwater County into northwest Hubbard County. Numerous trees were knocked down along the path near state highway 113. Peak winds were estimated to 105 mph.

8. Apr 1, 2006Flood$146,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Due to the quick snowmelt, water quickly drained into low areas, damaging many roads and bridges around the county. Becker County received a Presidential Disaster Declaration for damages caused by spring flooding.

9. Jun 12, 2008Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado tracked intermittently for about 2 miles to around one mile south of Midway by 643 pm CDT. Several poplar trees were snapped off along the path. The tornado was viewed from a point nearly 15 miles north-northwest. Peak winds were estimated to 85 mph.

10. Jun 11, 2008High Wind, West Becker$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    High winds developed across portions of west central Minnesota Wednesday (11th) morning. The winds were thought to be the result of a wake low.

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

107°F2 times, most recently Jul 13, 1936

All-time low

−51°F2 times, most recently Feb 2, 1996

Warmest night

78°FJul 1, 1966

Coldest day

−28°F2 times, most recently Jan 25, 1904

Wettest day

6.75 inAug 1, 1906

Snowiest day

15.0 inApr 19, 1893

Hottest year

2024mean 44.5°F

Coldest year

1917mean 34.1°F

Wettest year

198540.51 in

Driest year

197612.53 in

Station Park Rapids Municipal Airport (USW00094967), 1,441 ft elevation, 37.4 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 26, 2026; 99.4% 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 Becker 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 USW00094967.
• 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.