Le Sueur County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by USGS MN (535).

1. 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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Mar 29, 1998Tornado$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado tracked through Le Center and adjoining rural areas. Most of the businesses in the southern part of town were damaged. Buildings destroyed at county fairgrounds. 15 mobiles homes at a trailer park destroyed, another 26 suffering major damage. Over 100 farm buildings destroyed.

2. May 15, 1998Hail$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous houses and vehicles damaged by wind-driven hail. Damage estimate for entire county.

3. Aug 24, 2006Tornado$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The F3 tornado that began in Nicollet County at 1630 CST moved into Le Sueur County near the northern city limits of Kasota. Over 100 homes suffered some damage, dozens of homes had major damage, and three were completely leveled. The tornado moved east-northeast for about ten miles in Le Sueur County, then turned and moved east-southeast until dissipation. Hundreds of farm animals were killed, including 200 cows at a large dairy. Approximately five thousand acres of corn and soybeans were estimated to be ruined across the county. A State Farm spokeswoman said the company expected 4,500 homeowner claims and 8,000 auto claims from the storm. Some information provided by the Star…

4. Jun 18, 2014Flood$1.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   There were multiple reports of road closures due to high water and debris along the Minnesota River. In the southeast part of Le Sueur County, some residents in the town of Waterville, Minnesota had to evacuate their homes along Lillian Street due to rising waters of the local lake. The city council declared the town a disaster area and had volunteers help them fill sandbags to stop further damage to homes. As lake levels rose, several homes were surrounded by water from the nearby lakes, and a few will be completely destroyed. The city closed four streets and parts of three others due to the flooding.

5. Aug 24, 2006Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Vehicles, homes and businesses damaged on the south side of New Prague.

6. Aug 9, 1999Tornado$610,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Dairy barn and machine shop destroyed three miles northwest of Cleveland. Four miles east of Cleveland, machine shed, two old cattle barns, and a garage leveled on family farm. Many acres of corn flattened along the twister's path. Damages county wide only included machinery and property values. No estimates on livestock lost though several cattle were killed.

7. Jun 19, 2014Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A mud slide, along Henderson Road, destroyed a home.

8. Mar 19, 2012Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The EF-0 tornado that formed in northern Waseca County continued to move northward across the western sections of Elysian in Le Sueur County, where two small empty grain bins were blown into a field. Also, a small metal shed was blown across Highway 60 in the same area. ||As the tornado continued to track north of Lake Francis, the damage pattern became more complex, and some damage signatures were associated with downburst winds. However, the damage pattern was such that it impossible to discern between the tornado damage and any downburst damage. Therefore there is no separate entry for thunderstorm wind damage at this point. ||The path length of the tornado in Le Sueur County…

9. Jun 16, 2014Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   There was lots of damage in Elysian, including numerous large trees down, including 7 that were blocking the main roads. Other reports included; shingles off two homes, broke rafters in garage, and damage to three boat docks on Lake Francis.

10. Jul 24, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Several trees were blown down near Cleveland. The trees landed on homes, sheds and a car and caused substantial damage.

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

109°FJul 14, 1936

All-time low

−40°FJan 12, 1912

Warmest night

87°FJun 30, 1921

Coldest day

−19°FFeb 8, 1899

Wettest day

8.62 inAug 7, 1968

Snowiest day

15.0 in2 times, most recently Nov 12, 1940

Hottest year

1931mean 50.8°F

Coldest year

1979mean 41.2°F

Wettest year

201644.15 in

Driest year

19109.92 in

Snowiest season

89.2 in1950-51

Station St. Peter (USC00217405), 795 ft elevation, 13.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 12, 2026; 91.9% 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 USC00217405.
• 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.