Benton County, Minnesota
Tornadoes, hail, floods and severe storms recorded here between 1954 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see which tornadoes came closest to it.
7
Tornado reports
105
Hail reports
12
Floods since 1996
349
All events
1
Deaths
$9.9M
Property damage
Tornado paths in Benton County
The part of each tornado’s path NOAA recorded in this county, 7 in all. Zoom in and the paths widen to their surveyed width.
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Year by year
All storm eventsTornadoes
NOAA's storm database records tornadoes back to 1950 and hail and thunderstorm wind back to 1955, but floods only from 1996 on. Older floods are missing here. For those, the U.S. Geological Survey's stream gauge records and flood reports are the place to look.
Most significant events
The strongest tornadoes, deadliest events and biggest damage here, up to 50.
A severe downburst wind event occurred from Sauk Rapids, north and northeast across a large swath of central and northern Benton County. Hundreds of trees were toppled, broken or pushed over. Many trees landed on houses, sheds and vehicles.
Hail damaged many houses and vehicles, and area crops. The hail fell when winds were not too strong, so crop damage was limited.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
A long duration winter weather event produced two rounds of precipitation. The first round produced mixed precipitation across the county. The second round fell as mostly wet heavy snow that melted on contact with the ground. Snow accumulations measured 2 to 4 inches across the w…
Winter Weather Winter Weather
Around 3 to 5 inches of snow fell from Saturday night into Sunday morning.The snow was heavy at times, impacting visibility and driving conditions Sunday morning.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
A CoCoRaHS observer reported freezing rain with a thin layer of ice covered in snow on the morning of the 7th. The ASOS at nearby KSTC also noted a couple of hours of light freezing rain.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
The ASOS station located at St. Cloud Regional Airport observed approximately an hour of freezing rain. There was less than one tenth of ice accretion but did make the morning commute incredibly slippery.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Nearby KSTC reported wind gusts as high as 25 mph overnight as air temperatures dropped from -15F to -25F. The lowest measured wind chill was -49F at 11PM on the 22nd.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
Nearby KSTC measured strong winds gusting to 40 mph and scattered snow showers resulting in periodic reductions in visibility as low as a 1/2 mile at times, though generally remaining around 1 to 3 miles. The strongest winds were during the afternoon as snowfall became lighter.
Winter Storm Winter Storm
The combination of falling snow and breezy winds resulted in winter storm conditions throughout the county. Snowfall reports ranged from 3 to 6, and the highest reports in the southern portion of the county. Surface visibilities reported at nearby KSTC dropped to 1 mile or less f…
Winter Weather Winter Weather
CoCoRaHS observers in Morrison and Sherburne Counties reported light freezing drizzle and light ice accumulation.
Winter Storm Winter Storm
Between 4 to 7 inches of snow fell across the county with the highest amounts occurring in the eastern region of the county. CoCoRaHS observers measured 5 inches 3 miles E of Rice. Poor visibility of one-quarter mile was reported due to falling snow at STC airport.
Winter Storm Winter Storm
A combination of heavy snow and strong winds impacted the county Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning. Snowfall amounts around 3 to 6 inches were estimated across the county, and wind gusts around 35 to 45 mph were measured throughout the event at St Cloud Regional Airport.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Mesonet station MN064 T.h.10 - Rice - Mp 162 measured a thunderstorm wind gust of 60 mph.
Winter Storm Winter Storm
An estimated 4 to 8 inches of snow fall across the county, with the bulk of the snow falling on April 2nd across the northwestern portion of the county. The highest reported snowfall total was 8.0 inches in Rice.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
Several hours of light freezing rain resulted in accumulations around 0.1 to 0.2 inches of flat ice across the county. Additional snow accumulations around up to 1 inch fell on top of the ice resulted in hazardous travel conditions Saturday into Sunday.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
The wind chill dropped to -44 during the morning at the North Dakota Ag Weather Network site just northwest of Rice. It also dropped to -41 during the morning at the Rice MNDOT RWIS site.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
An estimated 4 to 5.5 inches of snowfall was measured across the county. The highest snowfall observation was 5.0 inches near Rice, MN.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
An area of 2 to 3.5 inches fell across the county. 3.0 inches of snow was measured 6.5 miles SE of Rice, MN.
Hail Hail
A photo showed penny sized hail near the intersection of 30th St NE and Hwy 23.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Large tree limbs were broken.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A tree was downed.
Winter Storm Winter Storm
Multiple bands of snow moved through and produced generally 10 to 12 inches of heavy wet snow and 35 mph wind gusts. A CoCoRaHS observer measured 12.5 inches of snow 6 miles SSE of Rice, MN.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
A couple bands of snow moved through overnight and produced generally 1 to 3 inches of snow. Temperatures were below freezing, which led to icy roads.
Excessive Heat Excessive Heat
Warm environmental temperatures in the mid 90s combined with high dewpoint values in the upper 70s caused high heat indices exceeding 105F for approximately four hours. The AWOS station located in St. Cloud, MN recorded an apparent temperature of 114F at 3:55 PM. The AWOS station…
Winter Storm Winter Storm
This is a continuation of the winter storm that began on March 31. A wintry mix with a couple hours of very heavy snow and strong northwest winds produced hazardous driving conditions. Based on surrounding reports, radar, ASOS observations, and MNDOT road conditions, this event v…
Winter Storm Winter Storm
A wintry mix with a couple hours of very heavy snow and strong northwest winds produced hazardous driving conditions. Based on surrounding reports, radar, ASOS observations, and MNDOT road conditions, this event verified at 0100 CST on April 01, before the snow ended during the e…
Winter Storm Winter Storm
A band of rain changed over to snow, with visibility dropping to 1/4 mile. Most locations saw 3 to 5 inches of snow, with a few reports of just over 6 inches. Areas just east of Rice received 6.1 inches. Northwest winds increased as the snow was ending, and temperatures fell belo…
Winter Storm Winter Storm
Multiple bands of snow moved across the county. Sustained winds increased out of the northeast near 15-20 mph with gusts near 30 mph. Across the county, Interpolated Snowfall Analysis using the National Gridded Snowfall Analysis (NGSA) map detailed that at least 1-2 inches fell i…
Winter Storm Winter Storm
A heavy band of snow, with rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour caused significant travel impacts across the region as it moved through. Snowfall totals were 4 to 7 inches across the region.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
There were areas of blowing an drifting snow, with reduced visibilities. Northwest wind of 30 to 40 mph, with wind chills near 35 below zero. The conditions were bad, but not as bad as anticipated due to winds around 10 mph less than forecast.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Airfield stations in neighboring counties recorded wind-chill temperatures fluctuating between -37 to -35 for multiple hours. Strongest winds occurred in the afternoon hours between 30-40 mph.
Winter Storm Winter Storm
There were multiple reports of 6 to 8 inches across the county within a 12 hour period. This verifies the winter storm warning.
Winter Storm Winter Storm
Several inches of snow (4 to 6) were observed in the county, with 6 to 7 inches just to the west. Along the U.S. Hwy 10 corridor, there were a few observations of 5 inches. Prior to the snow, there was a wintry mix. The combination of a wintry mix followed by several inches of sn…
Excessive Heat Excessive Heat
Several temperature gauges measured heat indices between 105 and 110 degrees during the afternoon and evening hours.
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
Storm total from overnight thunderstorms 3.81 inches.
Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
Storm total from overnight thunderstorms 4.86 inches.
Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
Storm total from overnight thunderstorms 5.50 inches.
Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
Storm total from overnight thunderstorms 7.11 inches.
Excessive Heat Excessive Heat
Local airports and other reporting stations measured heat indices above 105 degrees from the early afternoon, through the early evening.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Some windows were broken. Vehicles were also damaged.
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Funnel Cloud Funnel Cloud
Two separate groups of storm chasers photographed a funnel cloud. Neither photo showed any ground contact, and no damage was reported. There were no reliable spotter reports of it touching down, so this has been documented as a funnel cloud.
Events by year, as a table
| Year | Events | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 6 | 0 |
| 2025 | 10 | 0 |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 |
| 2023 | 7 | 0 |
| 2022 | 20 | 0 |
| 2021 | 9 | 0 |
| 2020 | 6 | 0 |
| 2019 | 10 | 0 |
| 2018 | 7 | 0 |
| 2017 | 3 | 0 |
| 2016 | 9 | 0 |
| 2015 | 3 | 0 |
| 2014 | 11 | 1 |
| 2013 | 10 | 0 |
| 2012 | 11 | 0 |
| 2011 | 20 | 0 |
| 2010 | 9 | 0 |
| 2009 | 12 | 0 |
| 2008 | 15 | 0 |
| 2007 | 18 | 0 |
| 2006 | 8 | 0 |
| 2005 | 13 | 0 |
| 2004 | 5 | 0 |
| 2003 | 6 | 0 |
| 2002 | 20 | 0 |
| 2001 | 14 | 0 |
| 2000 | 2 | 0 |
| 1999 | 15 | 0 |
| 1998 | 6 | 0 |
| 1997 | 11 | 0 |
| 1996 | 15 | 0 |
| 1995 | 1 | 0 |
| 1994 | 2 | 0 |
| 1992 | 1 | 1 |
| 1991 | 3 | 0 |
| 1990 | 4 | 0 |
| 1989 | 2 | 0 |
| 1988 | 1 | 0 |
| 1987 | 1 | 0 |
| 1985 | 5 | 0 |
| 1984 | 1 | 0 |
| 1983 | 1 | 0 |
| 1982 | 2 | 2 |
| 1980 | 1 | 0 |
| 1977 | 1 | 1 |
| 1976 | 1 | 0 |
| 1975 | 1 | 0 |
| 1974 | 1 | 0 |
| 1970 | 1 | 1 |
| 1965 | 2 | 0 |
| 1956 | 1 | 0 |
| 1954 | 1 | 1 |
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in Benton County, measured to its path.
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