Winona County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Winona 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 (306), NASA (4).

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 18, 2007Flash Flood$22.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding hit all the creeks and drainage areas hard that begin near the Interstate 90 area in Winona County. Garvin Brook and other creeks that flow into Stockton became terrain-changing flowages that washed out numerous roads, created massive mudslides, took out bridges, damaged railroad tracks, and washed away some homes.||Most homes in Stockton had severe water damage as flood waters roared through town.||Erosion problems were also noted south of Interstate 90 in the Hart area. Many roads, including Highway 43, were closed for several days.

2. Aug 18, 2007Flash Flood$12.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   All drainage areas leading into communities in eastern Winona County experienced tremendous flash flooding. State Highway 43 was washed out just south of Winona. In addition, more than 300 residents were evacuated from their homes in Goodview due to high water. In Minnesota City a railroad bridge was ripped apart by Garvin Brook and a highway bridge through town suffered major damage on each end. Railroad tracks were warped or pushed clear out of position. Major erosion was seen.

3. Aug 18, 2007Flash Flood$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding and mudslides were common from the Elba area through Whitewater State Park and into the Lewiston area. Numerous mudslides occurred with many roads closed. Debris slid down hills and blocked drainage areas making flooding worse in many areas. A car was stuck in high water on County Highway 29 at some point.||Highway 74 in Whitewater State Park completely washed out. About 500 campers were evacuated that evening, but about a dozen campers were stranded at a primitive campsite overnight. They were rescued the following morning. The state park lost 3 bridges and there was extreme damage to campgrounds, rest rooms, a group dining hall, and the septic and water systems…

4. Jun 17, 2021Hail$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several rounds of storms moved across portions of southeast Minnesota on June 17th. Storms during the early morning hours dropped penny sized hail near Wykoff (Fillmore County). Much stronger storms occurred during the evening and dropped large hail across parts of Wabasha and Winona Counties. Hail up to 2.5 inches in diameter fell near Conception (Wabasha County) with two inch diameter hail falling near Kellogg (Wabasha County).

5. May 1, 2001Flood, Winona$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.

6. Apr 11, 2001Flood, Winona$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…

7. Jul 8, 1999Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down just northwest of Lewiston (Winona County), then moved into the middle of town and intensified. Numerous homes along Main Street had extensive damage with broken windows, damaged roofs and downed trees. One home had the entire roof taken off, while at least 4 cars were demolished from debris landing on them. A farm southeast of town had every building destroyed, except the house. Of the 1,300 population in Lewiston, only two people sustained minor injuries. Elsewhere across southeast Minnesota, spotters and law enforcement officials reported hail up to 2 inches in diameter along with trees and power lines knocked down.

8. Jun 2, 2020Hail$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hail ranging in size from 1.25 to 2 inches in diameter moved across the city of Winona causing extensive roof damage to houses and buildings.

9. Aug 19, 2007Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Law enforcement officials reported some roads and bridges washed out or still under water. Whitewater State Park remained closed. In Goodview, extensive damage occurred to homes and apartments due to flood waters. All or portions of highways still closed included Highway 76 from Interstate 90 to Highway 16.

10. Sep 23, 2010Flood$1.4 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Flooding occurred along rivers, creeks, and streams as well as in low-lying areas, with the worst impacts seen in the northern parts of the county. Numerous roads were closed and some were damaged by flood waters. A portion of County Road 74 southwest of Elba was closed due to high water. The Whitewater River saw major flooding, which did some damage to portions of the Whitewater State Park, which was evacuated. Five homes incurred minor damage. At mid-morning on the 23rd, the majority of the rain had fallen with 5.52 inches measured at a location 5 miles north of St. Charles and 4.20 inches in Winona.

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

108°FJul 14, 1995

All-time low

−38°FFeb 3, 1996

Warmest night

80°F6 times, most recently Jun 23, 2025

Coldest day

−15°FJan 19, 1994

Wettest day

5.75 inJul 29, 2011

Snowiest day

16.0 inDec 12, 2010

Hottest year

1998mean 51.1°F

Coldest year

2014mean 43.0°F

Wettest year

201946.80 in

Driest year

197617.78 in

Snowiest season

84.3 in1950-51

Station Winona Dam 5 A (USC00219072), 663 ft elevation, 5.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1939 to October 27, 2026; 97.5% 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 USC00219072.
• 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.