Renville County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jun 24, 2003Tornado$14.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This third tornado entered Renville County at 1845 CST and entered the city of Buffalo Lake, where damage was significant. Five people sustained minor injuries. Roofs were blown off the Lutheran Church, as well as a number of homes and businesses. Sheds and garages were blown down, a grain elevator was destroyed, and hundreds of trees were broken. Video and a storm survey determined the tornado was multiple vortex. 29 houses were damaged beyond repair, 51 sustained major damage, and 120 more suffered minor damage.

2. Jun 24, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A wide swath of wind originated in Kandiyohi County and swept across Meeker, Renville and McLeod Counties. Numerous trees were downed, sheds and outbuildings blown over, several barns were flattened, and grain bins blown over. About 50 farmsteads were damaged across an approximate area of 30 to 40 square miles.

3. Jun 18, 1998Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Construction company building and recycling center destroyed. Department of Transportation building damaged. Vehicles damaged at dealership.

4. Jul 1, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A long-lived and complex storm moved into western Renville County around 346 PM CST, and caused considerable damage to outbuildings, a few homes, crops and trees across a wide area of the county. Based on the damage reports and radar imagery, wind speeds were likely sustained above 70 to 90 mph, for 10 to 15 minutes in any given location as the storm traversed the county. Crop damage has been estimated at nearly 20,000 acres destroyed in Renville County alone.

5. Jun 18, 2014Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several county roads and highways were damaged due to flood waters, especially along the Minnesota River Valley area.

6. Jun 24, 2003Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The first of five tornadoes to hit the Buffalo Lake area this evening, the tornado hit three farmsteads before crossing into Sibley County at 1755 CST. Trees were knocked down, sheds and outbuildings destroyed, a grain dryer was overturned, a grain bin and silo were destroyed, and houses sustained minor damage.

7. Jul 23, 2016Lightning$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A lightning bolt struck a church in Sacred Heart, Minnesota. The lightning started a fire and destroyed the church which was built 140 years before. No one was injured, but the church was a total loss.

8. Jun 24, 2003Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This fourth tornado entered Renville County at 1912 CST and hit portions of one farmstead. Sheds, outbuildings and grain bins were damaged, a barn was flattened, and a number of trees were downed. The tornado dissipated before it reached Highway 212.

9. Jul 3, 2018Flood$375,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flood waters slowly receded from excessive rainfall that occurred Tuesday morning. Numerous roads were impacted by the flood waters, especially south of Highway 212. An individual was found in a water-swollen drainage ditch, two days after his car was discovered submerged a mile upstream.

10. Mar 17, 2010Flood$335,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    County Road 21, near the Minnesota River was closed due to flooding. There was also an ice jam east of this area where several county roads closed. Monetary costs were based on FEMA, State, and Local assistance which includes the following categories; debris removal, emergency protective measures, road systems and bridges, and water control facilities.

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

110°F2 times, most recently Jul 14, 1936

All-time low

−36°FJan 12, 1912

Warmest night

82°F5 times, most recently Aug 24, 1948

Coldest day

−21°FFeb 2, 1917

Wettest day

7.84 inAug 16, 2017

Snowiest day

22.0 inJan 21, 1917

Hottest year

1931mean 52.2°F

Coldest year

1951mean 40.1°F

Wettest year

197937.56 in

Driest year

189413.32 in

Snowiest season

82.1 in1916-17

Station Redwood Falls Municipal Airport (USW00014992), 1,026 ft elevation, 13.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1906 to October 26, 2026; 99.7% 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 USW00014992.
• 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.