Koochiching County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Koochiching County: 2.
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.

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

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.

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. May 15, 1998Hail$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hail reports over a 17 minute period ranged from nickel size to larger than baseballs. The large, jagged hailstones caused considerable damage to structures and vehicles.

2. Jul 1, 2022Flood$2.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Above normal snowfall for the 2021-2022 season was observed across northern portions of Koochiching and St. Louis counties and much of that remained on the ground into April. Heavy rainfall then fell on top of that above normal snowpack at the end of April and sent abnormally high amounts of runoff into the Rainy River Basin leading to rises on Rainy Lake. International Falls experienced their wettest April on record, helping to set the stage for the flooding. By June 15th, the level of Rainy Lake reached 1113.2 feet which was 22 inches above the 2014 peak level and 2.5 inches above the all-time record set in 1950. Having crested and setting a new all-time high, the lake level…

3. Jul 1, 2014Flood$28,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   FEMA calculated that the county was eligible for $28,000 in assistance for debris cleanup and to repair public docks, roads, ditches, shoulders and bridges.

4. Aug 16, 1998Lightning$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck and shattered a 20-foot fiberglass church steeple. The lightning also caused a fire that was confined to the steeple and roof. No one was injured.

5. Jul 11, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$5,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A roof was damaged along Highway 217 near mile post 17.

6. Jul 21, 2014Thunderstorm Wind$2,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   More than 200 trees were blown down at a country club. Parts of the roof from the outdoor deck by the clubhouse ended up on the number 18 tee.

7. Sep 12, 2005Lightning$1,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck the television antenna on top of a home on County Road 29 and follwed a cable line down into the ceiling of the basement where it began to smolder. Damage was isolated to the basement.

8. Jul 21, 2014Thunderstorm Wind$1,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A carport and woodshed were blown down and destroyed.

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

103°FJul 22, 1923

All-time low

−55°FJan 6, 1909

Warmest night

77°FAug 5, 2001

Coldest day

−29°FJan 6, 1909

Wettest day

4.20 inJul 2, 1966

Snowiest day

14.1 inJan 10, 1975

Hottest year

1987mean 42.3°F

Coldest year

1950mean 32.0°F

Wettest year

202235.45 in

Driest year

195217.23 in

Snowiest season

125.6 in2008-09

Station International Falls International Airport (USW00014918), 1,157 ft elevation, 5.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1906 to October 26, 2026; 99.6% 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 USW00014918.
• 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.