Yellow Medicine County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 (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. Jul 25, 2000Tornado$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado first touched down in rural Yellow Medicine County, 8 miles west, and 3 miles north of Granite Falls. The tornado lifted before exiting Granite Falls, leaving the most concentrated damage path two miles long, and 500 feet wide, through a primarily residential area of Granite Falls. Most of the damage in Granite Falls was caused by F2 to F3 wind speeds. However, this tornado has been classified as a minimal F4 tornado, based on the twisted wreckage of an overturned railroad car near the intersection of 9th Avenue and 14th street in Granite Falls.

2. Aug 8, 2020Thunderstorm Wind$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread wind damage occurred around the city of Granite Falls. Numerous trees, power lines and structural damage occurred in the city with the Yellow Medicine East School District main building sustaining major damage. The winds tore off the heating and ventilation systems on the roofs, opening the duct work to the rain. Water poured through the ventilation system and directly into classrooms, hallways and on equipment. On the south side of the Minnesota River, the Granite Run golf course suffered significant damage to trees and their local restaurant.

3. Jul 16, 2016Thunderstorm Wind$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several sources from the media, law enforcement and trained spotters reported widespread damage across the city of Granite Falls. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down along with some roof damage to businesses. The area was concentrated west and south of the Minnesota River in Yellow Medicine County.

4. Jul 16, 2016Thunderstorm Wind$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Fagen Fighters Museum at the airport had three T-hangars destroyed, including the contents inside, and three planes.

5. Jun 25, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three large grain bins dented, ham radio tower down, numerous trees down. Minor damage to roofs and windows of houses.

6. Jul 1, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A long-lived and complex storm moved into far southeast Yellow Medicine County around 336 PM CST, and caused considerable damage to outbuildings, a few homes, crops and trees. Based on the damage reports and radar imagery, wind speeds were likely sustained above 70 to 90 mph, for 10 to 15 minutes in any given location as the storm traversed the county.

7. Aug 6, 2015Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado moved across several farmsteads, destroying several outbuildings, uprooting or breaking hundreds of trees, and damaging crops. About seven hay bales (each with a diameter of six feet) were blown apart for about 1/4 mile downwind. The damage pattern suggested this was a multiple vortex tornado. The tornado was accompanied by a damaging rear flank downdraft just to the south of the tornado.

8. Jul 1, 2011Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An EF-1 tornado continued along a path across Yellow Medicine County near 100th Avenue and 600th Street, northeast to near 130th Avenue, and 370th Street where it crossed back into northwest Redwood County. Several trees were uprooted along the path along with a few homes damaged.

9. Mar 16, 2010Flood$420,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   In Granite Falls, 466th Street was closed at 889th Street due to flood waters of the Minnesota River. In addition, the county roads southeast of Granite Falls, on 620th Street, from 180th to 190th Ave were flooded.||Monetary costs were based on FEMA, State, and Local assistance which includes the following categories; debris removal, emergency protective measures, road systems and bridges, water control facilities, and parks.

10. May 12, 2022Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    In addition to the Canby Airport severe wind gust, two structures had significant damage in Canby. One house had its roof torn off north of Canby, and a church in Canby had its tin roof blown off.

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

109°FJul 31, 1988

All-time low

−36°FFeb 16, 1936

Warmest night

83°FAug 16, 1988

Coldest day

−19°FDec 31, 2017

Wettest day

8.07 inJun 17, 1957

Snowiest day

16.0 inFeb 20, 1952

Hottest year

2012mean 49.6°F

Coldest year

1951mean 41.6°F

Wettest year

201945.78 in

Driest year

193617.26 in

Snowiest season

88.9 in2018-19

Station Marshall (USC00215204), 1,149 ft elevation, 18.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1935 to October 26, 2026; 99.2% 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 USC00215204.
• 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.