Wabasha County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 (53), 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. May 19, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$12.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Damage to farm buildings, sheds and barns. Estimated windspeed. Estimated damage for entire county.

2. Sep 24, 2010Flood$5.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Major flooding occurred in the town of Zumbro Falls as the Zumbro River rose to record levels. Of the 95 homes in the town, 60 were affected by flood waters. Businesses in the downtown area also saw damages, while propane tanks were seen floating around. The entire town was evacuated, while power, water and septic systems were down for days. The rainfall as of 5:30 a.m. CST on the 23rd amounted to 6.37 inches.

3. Sep 23, 2010Flood$4.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Major flooding occurred in the town of Hammond due to record flooding on the Zumbro River. Of the 75 homes in the town, 19 were damaged and 20 were destroyed. Power, water and septic services were down in the town for several days. Businesses in the town also saw extensive damage.

4. Sep 23, 2010Flood$4.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding occurred along rivers, streams and creeks as well as low-lying areas throughout the county. At least 14 roads were closed across the county due to water over the roads, including U.S. Highway 63, State Highways 68 and 60, and County Roads 3, 8, 21, and 11. At least 10 schools throughout the county canceled classes due to road closures. It was estimated that 300 homes were affected by flood waters throughout the county, 99 of which were in the towns of Zumbro Falls and Hammond. The areas that saw the worst flooding included locations along the Zumbro River, including the cities of Zumbro Falls, Hammond, Millville, and Jarrett. Due to the rising river, the towns of Zumbro…

5. Sep 23, 2010Flood$3.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Locally heavy rains pushed the Zumbro River in Zumbro Falls out of its banks starting on September 23rd. The river gage failed during the flooding and the river is estimated to have returned to within it banks on the 27th. The crest was determined by an USGS survey to have been 35.8 feet, which exceeded the flood stage by almost 18 feet. This crest also established a new flood of record. Numerous homes were heavily damaged or destroyed.

6. May 1, 2001Flood, Wabasha$2.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Mississippi River crested in April 2001 at levels second only to the all-time flood of record, which occurred in April 1965. In spite of the river slowly receding, water levels remained above flood stage, resulting in continued flooding until the middle of May. Numerous homes and businesses were damaged due to the flood waters. This resulted in Wabasha, Winona and Houston County receiving federal disaster relief funds.

7. Apr 10, 2001Flood, Wabasha$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Water levels on the Mississippi River rose to near record levels due to a combination of snow melt runoff and heavy rains. In fact, only the all-time flood of record in April 1965 produced higher water than that recorded in April 2001. At Lake City and Wabasha (Wabasha County), the river crested at 20.1 feet and 18.2 feet respectively on April 16, which was the second highest crest on record. At Winona (Winona County), the river crested at 20.1 feet on April 17, which was also the second highest crest ever. Numerous homes, businesses and roads near the river were damaged by the high water, with total damage estimated around 5 million dollars. As a result, Wabasha, Winona and…

8. Aug 18, 2007Flash Flood$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding quickly hit area creeks, even into the Millville, Plainview, and Zumbro Falls area. Several roads were closed as flood waters peaked overnight including damage to some businesses and homes. A few mudslides hit County Roads 2 and 11, among other areas, including a huge boulder that washed on to a road at the start of the flooding. At least 44 families were impacted in Elgin with lower numbers in other communities.

9. Aug 13, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$1.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees and at least a half dozen power poles were blown down throughout the city of Lake City. Damage was also reported to several homes as well as to a 100,000 bushel grain bin and a dryer at a local business. The grain bin was destroyed.

10. Apr 13, 2026Hail$820,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The public reported 2 inch diameter hail in Lake City. This resulted in damage to structures and vehicles in portions of the city.

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

104°FAug 1, 1988

All-time low

−44°FJan 18, 1967

Warmest night

82°FJul 17, 1982

Coldest day

−16°FDec 23, 1983

Wettest day

8.00 inJul 1, 1978

Snowiest day

14.0 inDec 25, 1945

Hottest year

2012mean 48.4°F

Coldest year

2008mean 40.5°F

Wettest year

201648.33 in

Driest year

194918.04 in

Snowiest season

81.4 in2018-19

Station Theilman 1SSW (USC00218227), 753 ft elevation, 1.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1962 to October 27, 2026; 88.6% 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 USC00218227.
• 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.