St. Louis County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within St. Louis County: 3.
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.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by USGS MN (1,646), NASA (1).

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. Aug 23, 1998Hail$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hail size ranged from .75 inch in diameter in the Woodland neighborhood on the northeast side of the city to 3.5 inches in Lincoln Park in West Duluth. The hail caused considerable damage to vehicles, roofs, gardens, and patio furniture. The dollar amount of property damage is an estimate based on insurance claims.

2. May 12, 2025Wildfire, Central St. Louis$13.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Jenkins Creek Fire ignited on Monday, May 12, 2025, around 1PM local time. It was detected east of County Road 110 and north of County Road 16 near Jenkins Creek, approximately 15 miles southeast of Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota. It was believed to have been started by a discarded cigarette from a passing vehicle. The fire rapidly expanded due to hot temperatures, low relative humidity, and strong south winds, burning through mixed boreal forest and grassy ground cover, including areas heavily infested by spruce budworm, which contributed to the fire's intensity.||The fire initially exhibited extreme behavior, including crown fires and rapid spread through dense forested areas. The…

3. May 11, 2025Wildfire, Central St. Louis$8.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Camp House fire began on Sunday, May 11, 2025, at approximately 2PM local time in Ault Township, about two miles northeast of Brimson, Minnesota, outside the Superior National Forest. The fire was initially reported at 750 acres and expanded rapidly due to dry conditions, gusty winds, and a large volume of dead timber, particularly in areas infested with spruce budworms. It is believed to have been started by an unattended campfire. The fire moved into the Superior National Forest, causing closures and evacuations. Initial fire behavior included crown fires and rapid spread through dense forest, fueled by widespread dead and dying trees.||At least 144 structures, primarily…

4. May 5, 2007Wildfire, Central St. Louis$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A major forest fire broke out near Ham Lake on May 5th due to an unattended campfire, and was called the Ham Lake Fire. The fire spread north across the upper portions of the Gunflint Trail, and into Canada, destroying 61 homes on the Minnesota side, and slightly more smaller structures. Property damage was estimated at 4 million dollars. The fire was 100% contained on the U.S. side on May 19th, and had consumed more than 36,000 acres in Minnesota (75,000 acres total, including Canada). This would make the Ham Lake Fire even larger than last July's Cavity Lake Fire, which up until now was the largest fire in the area in 100 years.

5. Jul 1, 2022Flood$1.4 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…

6. May 12, 2025Wildfire, Central St. Louis$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Munger Shaw wildfire, located approximately ten miles southeast of Cotton, Minnesota, was detected late in the afternoon on Monday, May 12. Minnesota DNR, along with local fire departments, responded. Multiple aircraft were brought in to help slow down the active flame fronts, supporting the ground firefighting efforts. The fire was active in pine and lowland fuels, but favorable weather conditions led to slow growth of the fire. The fire was believed to have started with the spontaneous combustion of a hay bale. The fire was 95% contained by Monday, May 19th, but was not fully contained until June 13th. At one point during the early days of the fire, the mainline of the…

7. Jun 19, 2024Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Streets and yards in the city of Cook were under water. Low spots of Highway 24 were under water with up to 6 to 12 inches of water across roads. This was following the heavy rainfall on the 18th where 3 to 7 inches of rainfall fell across the region. This led to major flooding occurring along the Littlefork River in the city of Cook, where floodwaters inundated downtown, surrounding residences and businesses with several feet of water, closing dozens of roads, and prompting sandbagging efforts and evacuation of parts of the city. Federal and state disasters were declared once the water receded nearly a week later.

8. Mar 23, 2009Ice Storm, Southern Lake$815,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   FEMA assistance to Lake County totalled over $800,000. $360,000 went towards electrical utility repair. $150,000 of the funds went towards trail debris clearance for snowmobile, ATV, hiking and ski trails. The remainder went towards highway, street and road department debris clearance in about a 500 square mile area of the county. Personal property damage was minimal, and roughly estimated at $15,000.

9. Aug 6, 1996Lightning$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck and downed a power line adjacent to a restaurant's kitchen. The line fell against a wall and ignited a fire that brought down the roof, two outside walls, and consumed the building's contents.

10. Jul 14, 1998Lightning$400,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Lightning struck the steeple of an 81-year-old wooden church, toppling the steeple and starting a fire that destroyed the building.

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

97°F3 times, most recently Sep 3, 2023

All-time low

−39°F2 times, most recently Feb 2, 1996

Warmest night

77°FAug 25, 2013

Coldest day

−22°FJan 9, 1982

Wettest day

4.14 inJun 19, 2012

Snowiest day

24.1 inNov 1, 1991

Hottest year

2024mean 44.6°F

Coldest year

1950mean 34.6°F

Wettest year

199143.44 in

Driest year

198719.84 in

Snowiest season

140.1 in2022-23

Station Duluth (USW00014913), 1,542 ft elevation, 17.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% 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 USW00014913.
• 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.