Pennington storm history
Storm events recorded in Pennington, Minnesota between 1950 and 2025.
420
Total events
11
Tornadoes
101
Hail
15
Floods
0
Deaths
$5.0M
Property damage
Most significant events
Strongest tornadoes, deadliest events, and biggest damage in this county. Up to 50 shown.
Blizzard Blizzard
First visibility reduction of a quarter mile or less occurred at 816am, 3 miles south of Thief River Falls, and persisted until 145pm. Wind gusts were in the range of 40mph to 50mph.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Measurement of 8 inches of snow in Thief River Falls, MN. Snow was still lightly falling at the time of the report but the main event was over.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Broken tree branches reported.
Hail Hail
Report of quarter size hail. Time estimated by radar.
Hail Hail
Report of up to quarter size hail falling over a 20 min period. Time Estimated by radar.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Thief River Falls MN airport awos station KTVF.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Gust measured at awos station KTVF.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Road sign damaged by wind and twisted.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
AWOS station KTVF Thief River Falls airport Minnesota measured a -52 wind chill.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Wind and cold air temperatures combined to create excessive cold conditions with apparent temperature as cold as -52F on the morning of the 20th at the Thief River Falls airport.
Hail Hail
Broadcast media relays report of 2.75 inch hail in ESE of Goodridge.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Public reports 6 inches of storm total snow in Thief River Falls.
Drought Drought
Pennington county was in D2 drought from September 5th through September 26th.
Hail Hail
Delayed report from social media. Broadcast Media reports golf ball to egg size hail 6 east of Goodridge.
Lightning Lightning
Mayor of Thief River Falls, MN reports a tree in his backyard took a direct strike from lightning. Still standing but damaged. No fatalities or injuries.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Public reports 12 inches of snow west of Thief River Falls.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Mavie CoCoRaHS reports 7.2 inches of snow.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Storm total snow of 8.4 inches 5 WNW High Landing.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Mavie 3 WSW NDAWN station reported wind chills below -40F for multiple hours, with the lowest being -43F.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Mavie 3WSW NDAWN reported wind chills below -40F for multiple hours, with the lowest of those being -48F.
Blizzard Blizzard
Public in St. Hilaire sent photos of 1/4SM visibility with blowing snow.
Blizzard Blizzard
Thief River Falls Airport AWOS reports 1/4 SM visibility and 35 MPH or greater winds.
Winter Storm Winter Storm
Public reports 5 inches of snow in Thief River Falls. Relayed via Facebook.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
CoCoRaHS station MN-PG-3 7.4 SW Goodridge reports 3.5 inches of snow.
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Received a public report of mainly dime to nickel sized hail, with a few quarter sized pieces mixed in.
Hail Hail
Dime to nickel sized hail covering the ground was reported by a trained spotter.
Hail Hail
Received a public report of ping pong ball to hen egg sized hail.
Hail Hail
Received a public report of large hail that fell for around 10 minutes.
Funnel Cloud Funnel Cloud
Law enforcement reported a persistent wall cloud and a brief funnel.
Tornado EF0 Tornado
A brief touchdown was noted in an open field just north of MN Hwy 1. A dust swirl was evident but no damage was apparent. A nearby MNDOT RWIS station registered a peak wind of 71 mph. Maximum width estimated to 40 yards.
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Peak winds were measured at an RWIS station along Hwy 1.
Hail Hail
Received a report of dime to quarter sized hail covering HWY 1.
Tornado EF0 Tornado
Tornado tracked for less than a minute through an open field. The ground based dust swirl was filmed or photographed by at least three spotters. A persistent and low wall cloud structure was tracked into the area and was above the swirl, with only a brief condensation cone appare…
High Wind High Wind
Several reports of tree branches down across the area.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Heavy snowfall totals were reported across the area, with amounts ranging from 7 inches to 14 inches. Blowing snow reduced visibility at times.
Blizzard Blizzard
Blizzard conditions prevailed through the late morning and into much of the afternoon, with visibility down to 1/4 mile and winds frequently gusting over 35 mph.
Blizzard Blizzard
Visibility well below 0.25 mile with winds sustained at or above 35 mph. Numerous highways were shut down in MN.
Heavy Snow Heavy Snow
Up to 6 inches of snow fell across the region per social media and public reports.
Cold/Wind Chill Cold/Wind Chill
Temperatures fell into the teens below zero across the area, with winds of 15 to 25 mph; wind chills were as low as 40 below zero.
Cold/Wind Chill Cold/Wind Chill
Temperatures fell as low as 20 below zero, with winds ranging from 10 to 20 mph.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Wind chill values fell into the range of 30 below zero to 50 below zero across much of the area.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Overnight low temperatures dropped from minus 15 to minus 25 F, with winds of 10 to 20 mph producing wind chills from minus 35 to minus 55 F.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Overnight low temperatures dropped from minus 15 to minus 25 F, with winds of 10 to 20 mph producing wind chills from minus 35 to minus 50 F.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Temperatures plummeted well below zero, ranging from minus 25 to minus 35 degrees Fahrenheit, with wind chills of from minus 35 to minus 50F, throughout the overnight hours of the 5th through the morning of the 6th, and again from the late afternoon of the 6th through the morning…
Cold/Wind Chill Cold/Wind Chill
Wind chill values fell as low as -50 degrees during the evening and into the overnight hours as reported by NDAWN Mesonet.
Cold/Wind Chill Cold/Wind Chill
Wind chills fell to -47 degrees at nearby NDAWN Mesonet sites.
Events by year
| Year | Events | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 10 | 0 |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 9 | 0 |
| 2022 | 26 | 2 |
| 2021 | 9 | 0 |
| 2020 | 27 | 2 |
| 2019 | 20 | 0 |
| 2018 | 16 | 0 |
| 2017 | 8 | 0 |
| 2016 | 7 | 0 |
| 2015 | 17 | 0 |
| 2014 | 17 | 0 |
| 2013 | 17 | 0 |
| 2012 | 9 | 0 |
| 2011 | 10 | 0 |
| 2010 | 14 | 1 |
| 2009 | 12 | 0 |
| 2008 | 11 | 0 |
| 2007 | 23 | 0 |
| 2006 | 10 | 0 |
| 2005 | 17 | 0 |
| 2004 | 20 | 0 |
| 2003 | 4 | 0 |
| 2002 | 14 | 0 |
| 2001 | 22 | 0 |
| 2000 | 8 | 0 |
| 1999 | 8 | 0 |
| 1998 | 4 | 1 |
| 1997 | 5 | 0 |
| 1996 | 10 | 0 |
| 1995 | 1 | 0 |
| 1994 | 1 | 0 |
| 1992 | 1 | 0 |
| 1991 | 1 | 0 |
| 1989 | 1 | 0 |
| 1988 | 1 | 0 |
| 1985 | 1 | 0 |
| 1984 | 1 | 0 |
| 1983 | 1 | 1 |
| 1982 | 2 | 0 |
| 1981 | 1 | 0 |
| 1980 | 2 | 1 |
| 1978 | 1 | 1 |
| 1977 | 2 | 0 |
| 1975 | 5 | 0 |
| 1973 | 2 | 0 |
| 1968 | 2 | 2 |
| 1962 | 2 | 0 |
| 1961 | 3 | 0 |
| 1959 | 1 | 0 |
| 1956 | 3 | 0 |