Wright County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 (16).

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. Sep 21, 2005Hail$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hail damaged roofs and siding of houses, as well as many vehicles. Property damage total includes damage from across all of Wright County from 9-21-05.

2. Jun 24, 2002Flash Flood$25.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Just three days after a heavy rainfall and flash flooding on the 21st, four to seven inches were widespread across Wright County, and there was an unofficial report of ten inches in less than six hours. Dozens of roads were closed, and many experienced washouts. A cabin at Waverly was pushed off its foundation by a mudslide. One home in Howard Lake sustained severe damage from a mudslide. A mobile home park in Howard Lake was flooded; 17 families were displaced by the water. Over 100 homes in Howard Lake had flooded basements. Some businesses and homes in Delano and Montrose were flooded. In Annandale, ten vehicles were submerged and numerous basements flooded. An auto dealership…

3. Jul 1, 1997Thunderstorm Wind$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   While several tornadoes converged on the southern edge of town, hurricane force winds battered the northern portions. The intersection of Interstate 94 and highway 25 was hardest hit by downburst winds resulting in extensive roof damage. Every tree in Ellison Park damaged. Roof ripped off automobile dealership flung into new car area destroying 75 new cars and trucks. Numerous recreational vehicles at RV dealership totaled. Over 200 structures significantly damaged. 61 homes and apartment buildings declared uninhabitable. 30 factories closed. Northern States Power transmission towers blown down. 2500 trees lost. Air conditioning unit blown off high school roof. Parked truck blown…

4. Aug 24, 2006Hail$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Vehicles, homes and businesses damaged. Damage total includes all storm reports from August 24 in Wright County.

5. Sep 6, 2002Flash Flood$2.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three to seven inches of rain fell on waterlogged Wright County, site of several flash floods earlier in the summer. Several creeks and ditches overflowed, including Willow Creek in Buffalo. Water was two to three feet deep over numerous roads. Basements were flooded in homes and businesses. The parking lot of a vehicle dealership flooded, and 80 vehicles sustained damage. Several other vehicles were flooded at a nearby auto repair shop.

6. May 15, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trailer office blown over. Trees also blown over. Estimated windspeed. Damage estimate for entire county.

7. Sep 9, 2002Tornado$1.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A rare late night tornado struck a subdivision in Albertville. According to a damage survey conducted by NWS personnel, it touched down on the eastern edge of Cedar Creek Golf Course, trekked straight east, and dissipated in a city park just west of the railroad tracks. It completely tore the roof off of one home. Roofs were partially off a number of other homes, many attached garages collapsed, and a couple of houses were rotated on their foundation. About 20 homes were damaged, nine of which sustained significant damage.

8. Jun 20, 2007Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A ten mile long and two mile wide swath of hail caused significant crop damage, broke windows, and dented siding and vehicles. At Mud Lake, 3 miles southeast of French Lake, the hail got progressively larger, reaching golf ball size just before it ended.

9. Apr 24, 2016Lightning$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The morning of Sunday, April 24th, a thunderstorm moved across eastern Minnesota. Lightning struck one home in Otsego around 5 AM LST and caught fire. Then the fire and high winds spread the fire to two additional homes in the neighborhood. One home was completely destroyed while the others had extensive fire, water and smoke damage. No one was injured.

10. May 10, 2011Tornado$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    One home lost part of its roof, and others lost shingles. Several homes had windows blown in. Several dozen trees and a number of power poles were broken or knocked down. Siding and soffits were ripped off a few houses. Numerous backyard fences were blown over. A pole barn was lifted up about three feet before being set back down. The tornado was photographed and videotaped by several people. The condensation funnel was not fully extended, and the debris cloud never extended as high as the condensation funnel. The tornado was a marginal EF-1, with winds near 90 mph.

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

103°F3 times, most recently Aug 10, 1947

All-time low

−43°FJan 9, 1977

Warmest night

80°FJun 22, 2025

Coldest day

−20°FFeb 2, 1996

Wettest day

4.57 inAug 3, 1956

Snowiest day

14.5 inMar 1, 1965

Hottest year

2024mean 48.3°F

Coldest year

1950mean 38.4°F

Wettest year

201941.92 in

Driest year

197614.93 in

Snowiest season

88.2 in2022-23

Station St. Cloud Regional Airport (USW00014926), 1,018 ft elevation, 26.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1939 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 USW00014926.
• 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.