Sibley County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 (614), NASA (3).

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. Jun 18, 2014Flood$3.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several sources in Sibley County compiled a summary of flood related damages and locations for the flood of June 2014. Mudslides were going into some residences along the Minnesota River Valley. The City of Henderson was inundated with flood waters with businesses and local residence sandbagging. Scenic Highway 6 along the Minnesota River near Faxon Township was washed out due to the swollen river and heavy rainfall. There were also numerous county and secondary roads closed, along and near the Minnesota River.

2. Jun 24, 2003Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The third tornado in a series touched down in Sibley County and moved straight north, occasionally stalling in place for minutes at a time. It heavily damaged two farmsteads, where all outbuildings and sheds were destroyed, and the houses sustained significant damage. It entered Renville County at 1845 CST and then into Buffalo Lake.

3. Mar 14, 2007Flood$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Spring snow melt and rapid warming brought ice jams and flooding to portions of central and southern Minnesota. On the 14th, large ice chunks were pushed into the pilings of an old bridge on County Road 18 in eastern Sibley County, and the bridge was deemed beyond repair.

4. Jul 9, 2017Hail$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very large hail fell around the city of Winthrop, including the local golf course that sustained a heavy loss of trees and significant damage to their greens. Hail also damaged homes and barns.

5. Aug 24, 2006Hail$100,000
6. Aug 16, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Barn and sheds down. Three grain bins tipped over. Semi blown over. Several dozen trees toppled.

7. Mar 17, 2010Flood$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Highway 93 was closed from Highway 169 to Henderson, due to flood waters of the Minnesota River. Monetary costs were based on FEMA, State, and Local assistance which includes the following categories; debris removal, emergency protective measures, and road systems and bridges.

8. May 30, 2022Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Shed, barn and tree damage was noted on a social media posted in the city of Winthrop.

9. Jun 4, 2019Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A machine shed was completed destroyed on a farm 3 miles southeast of Gaylord, near the intersection of County Road 13, and 62. There were also power lines blown down in Gaylord. Two cows also perished at this farm.

10. Jul 10, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Numerous power lines and trees were blown down across the eastern part of the 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

105°FJul 31, 1988

All-time low

−34°F3 times, most recently Feb 3, 1996

Warmest night

79°FJun 22, 2025

Coldest day

−20°FDec 18, 1983

Wettest day

5.29 inAug 14, 1981

Snowiest day

16.9 inDec 28, 1982

Hottest year

1987mean 50.7°F

Coldest year

1996mean 41.6°F

Wettest year

196541.41 in

Driest year

195816.24 in

Snowiest season

88.0 in1961-62

Station Gaylord (USC00213076), 1,020 ft elevation, 3.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1956 to September 30, 2026; 94.1% 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 USC00213076.
• 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.