Kandiyohi County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Kandiyohi County: 0.
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.

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.

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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. Jun 11, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$15.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The mesocyclone which produced its first tornado 9 N Kerkhoven in Swift County intensified dramatically as it neared Spicer. A 5 to 6 mile wide swath of damaging wind blasted an area in a strip from Sunburg to 5 S Sunburg, then intensified dramatically as it neared Spicer and Green Lake. It continued toward the Atwater area, where a seed farm measured 103 knots (119 mph). It then exited Kandiyohi County and went into Meeker County. Hundreds of structures were damaged by the wind, including roofs off some businesses and garages, along with many downed barns, grain bins and outbuildings. Several thousand trees were felled, many onto homes and vehicles.

2. Jul 9, 2003Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A multiple vortex tornado touched down west of Pennock near a turkey farm, which was severely damaged. 200 to 300 turkeys were killed. The tornado then tracked straight east through the city of Pennock, knocking down trees and causing some damage to houses, including partially removing the roof from one home. A large storage building was destroyed in Pennock, as were several sheds and a garage. Just east of Pennock, it took direct aim on a house, lifting off its roof and blowing a shed into a nearby field. Another garage nearby had its roof removed. A strong rear flank downdraft accompanied the tornado, producing wind damage from just east of Pennock to Willmar (see corresponding entry).

3. Jun 11, 2017Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A large grain bin was blown down near Svea. There were also several turkey barns with roofs blown off.

4. May 12, 2022Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A large portion of a turkey barn sheet metal roof was ripped off and blown up to 100 yards away. The flying debris also damaged nearby homes.

5. Aug 10, 2016Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several rounds of very heavy rainfall caused significant flooding in the town of Willmar. The first two rounds of heavy rainfall added up to locally 4-6 inches by 9 PM CST. Significant runoff caused some roads to close with basement flooding.

6. Jun 17, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of severe straight-line winds, estimated over 75 mph, occurred north of Kandiyohi, then southeast to the city of Atwater. Numerous trees were uprooted, several barns were damaged or destroyed, windows were blown out in several communities, and power was out for several hours.

7. Jul 14, 2009Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service storm survey, plus visual reports and video, confirmed that a tornado moved through portions of Kandiyohi County near the town of Spicer. Portions of downtown Spicer were damaged, including the partial destruction of the upper level of a home, roof damage to multiple houses, several outbuildings destroyed, and a dozen or more car windows blown out at the local Green Mall parking lot. Maximum wind damage was estimated between 100 to 110 mph.

8. Aug 14, 2020Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A NWS survey, plus storm chasers video indicated an EF-1 tornado across portions of eastern Kandiyohi County, or the Irving Township area. This tornado destroyed one large shed and heavily damaged another. Drone video indicated the exact track of the tornado as it moved into Meeker County.

9. Jun 11, 2017Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado was associated with a quasi-linear storm complex. It mostly hit trees and crops, but during the latter half of its path, the tornado did move across or just south of a couple metal farm buildings, causing heavy damage.

10. Apr 22, 2001Flash Flood$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Two to four inches rain fell on saturated ground. The most severe damage occured in Santiago (Sherburne County), where a dike along County Road 11 gave way and allowed water to come crashing into town. About one dozen homes and businesses were flooded and evacuations were necessary. Other damage included flooded basements in Foley (Benton County) and Milaca (Mille Lacs County). County officials reported roads closed in portions of Benton, Meeker, Redwood, Renville and Stearns Counties, with some roads washed out. Intersections were flooded in Willmar (Kandiyohi County).

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

104°F2 times, most recently Aug 1, 1988

All-time low

−37°F2 times, most recently Feb 2, 1996

Warmest night

83°FJul 5, 1982

Coldest day

−19°FFeb 2, 1996

Wettest day

6.08 inJun 17, 1957

Snowiest day

18.0 inNov 1, 1991

Hottest year

1987mean 49.5°F

Coldest year

2008mean 39.7°F

Wettest year

202440.37 in

Driest year

198816.91 in

Snowiest season

71.5 in2018-19

Station Litchfield (USC00214778), 1,120 ft elevation, 23.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1908 to October 27, 2026; 96.1% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USC00214778.
• 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.