Rice County, Minnesota
Tornadoes, hail, floods and severe storms recorded here between 1958 and 2026, from NOAA's Storm Events Database. Search an address to see which tornadoes came closest to it.
40
Tornado reports
179
Hail reports
26
Floods since 1996
571
All events
1
Deaths
$100.0M
Property damage
Tornado paths in Rice County
The part of each tornado’s path NOAA recorded in this county, 40 in all. Zoom in and the paths widen to their surveyed width.
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated
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 rural Rice County man died while walking to his home during a blizzard. In addition, snowfall amounts averaged around 10 inches across the county, along with whiteout conditions which caused plows to be pulled off the road for several hours.
There was significant wind damage from a downburst that expanded in width as it traveled northeast. By the time it stopped producing damage, it was 8 wide on either side of Nerstrand. The damage began east-southeast of Morristown (near the Rice, Waseca, and Steele County line), m…
Baseball size hail was reported east of Northfield. The trained spotter emailed the picture of the large hail stone.
Several local officials, trained spotters and the general public observed flash flooding across northern and eastern Rice County due to 3, to locally 8. inches of rain that fell between 6 AM CST to 10 AM CST. Rice County Sheriff officials indicated that a number of residents were…
Numerous roads were closed due to excessive rainfall that fell on September 22nd and 23th. The major areal flooding didn't recede until late Saturday when most of the small streams and creeks had crested and only mainstem rivers remained flooded.
Hundreds and possibly thousands of vehicles damaged; many had to be totaled. Significant damage to many buildings and houses. Two car dealerships lost their entire inventory. Buildings on the St. Olaf college campus suffered roof and window damage. Approximately 17,000 acres of c…
NWS damage survey rated the tornado an F2. Tornado touched down briefly in downtown Northfield, flipping over a semi trailer truck and lifting the roof off of one business. Three-fourths mile later, it touched down again on the east side of Northfield, and then remained on the gr…
Four homes and 6 businesses severely damaged. Street department building damaged. 20 farms damaged or destroyed.
Funnel Cloud Funnel Cloud
Trained spotter submitted a brief video of a funnel cloud that developed 3 miles SE of Cannon City and tracked ESE towards Kenyon and crossing over MN-60 before dissipating.
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Winter Weather Winter Weather
A long duration winter weather event produced two rounds of rain/freezing rain mix which lasted several hours each. A CoCoRaHS Observer in Kenyon reported 0.15 inches of ice accretion on tree branches.
Blizzard Blizzard
Visibilities were dramatically reduced, at or below 1/4 mile for several hours, as heavy snow fell and sustained winds were 15 to 25 mph with frequent gusts over 35 mph. The 2-day snowfall reports ranged from about 10 to 14 inches throughout the county. The DOT issued a travel ad…
Winter Weather Winter Weather
A narrow band of snow produced 1 to 3 inches across the county. The highest CoCoRaHS snowfall measurement was 2.5 inches 4 miles SSE of Faribault.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
The AWOS station located at the Faribault Airport observed approximately an hour of freezing rain. There was less than one tenth of ice accretion but did make the travel conditions incredibly slippery.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
The AWOS station located at the Faribault Municipal Airport reported multiple hours of reduced visibility between one quarter to one half mile from falling blowing snow. Additionally, the max wind gust was near 30 mph. 4 inches of snow was measured 3.5 miles ESE of Faribault.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
KFBL has missing data during this event. Nearby KSYN in Stanton reported wind gusts as high as 30mph during the evening as air temperatures dropped from -15F to -20F overnight. The lowest measured wind chill was -42F at 1AM on the 23rd.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
CoCoRaHS observers reported a mix of light freezing rain and rain overnight that resulted in a glaze of ice on sidewalks near Northfield.
Winter Storm Winter Storm
The combination of falling snow and breezy winds resulted in winter storm conditions throughout the county. Snowfall reports ranged from 4 to 6, and the highest report was 6.0 inches near Faribault. Surface visibilities reported at KFBL in Faribault dropped to 1 mile or less for …
Winter Weather Winter Weather
The AWOS at Faribault Municipal Airport reported an hour and a half of mixed precipitation which made for slippery travel conditions for the morning commute. A CoCoRaHS observer reported an icy glaze in Nerstrand and the Hwy 3 overpass in Northfield was very slippery.
Blizzard Blizzard
Light snow combined with strong 25 to 35 mph wind gusts caused blowing snow and visibility near at 1/4 mile or below at the RWIS site near Medford. Emergency Management reported the blowing snow caused 25 vehicles to spinout, or crash across the county due to the whiteout conditi…
Winter Weather Winter Weather
Approximately 1 to 3 inches of snow fell across the county. CoCoRaHS observers measured 2.5 inches of snow in Northfield, and 1.4 inches in Faribault. Additionally, the AWOS station at the Faribault Airport reported one mile of visibility due to falling snow which caused slippery…
Winter Storm Winter Storm
Persistent light snow lasted for over 24 hours. Snowfall totals across the county were estimated around 5 to 8 inches. The highest report was 8.0 inches in Northfield.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
A combination of snow and strong winds impacted the county Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning. Snowfall amounts around 1 to 3 inches were estimated across the county, and wind gusts around 30 to 40 mph were measured throughout the event at Faribault Municipal Airport.
Funnel Cloud Funnel Cloud
There was a report of a funnel cloud southwest of Faribault relayed via HAM radio.
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
A three inch diameter tree was reported down near the airport.
Flash Flood Flash Flood
Street flooding in the 1500 block of 2nd Ave NW reported by county dispatch.
Tornado EF0 Tornado
A group of trees sustained damage and an outbuilding lost its roof and wall panels. The maximum estimated wind was 75 mph.
Tornado EF1 Tornado
Significant damage occurred at a farm: metal building system walls collapsed with several failed anchors, several semi and tanker trailers were heavily damaged, there was total loss of a barn and several smaller outbuildings, and several snapped trees. Additional isolated tree da…
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Large tree branch snapped on the southern side of the Faribault Golf Course.
Blizzard Blizzard
An estimated 8 to 12 inches of snow fell across the county. Frequent gusts over 30 mph and heavy snowfall rates resulted in several hours of 3/4 mile visibility or less. These conditions resulted in many county roads becoming impassable or travel not advised (including CR-99) ear…
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
The wind chill dropped to -44 during the morning at the MNDOT RWIS site near Little Chicago.
Winter Storm Winter Storm
Five to nine inches of snowfall was measured across the county. The highest snowfall observation was 8.9 inches in Faribault, MN.
Winter Weather Winter Weather
A band of 1 to 2 inches fell across the western portion of the county.
Hail Hail
Thunderstorm Wind Thunderstorm Wind
Multiple large trees down with some landing on power lines and resulting in power outages across north Faribault.
Funnel Cloud Funnel Cloud
Multiple reports of a funnel cloud with photos but no precip on radar. High-based clouds in the pictures.
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Tornado EFU Tornado
Storm chaser located at the intersection 270th St E. and 59th Ave observed a brief tornado to the north-northwest. No damage was reported.
Hail Hail
Events by year, as a table
| Year | Events | Tornadoes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 16 | 0 |
| 2025 | 16 | 2 |
| 2024 | 17 | 1 |
| 2023 | 14 | 0 |
| 2022 | 11 | 0 |
| 2021 | 22 | 5 |
| 2020 | 10 | 0 |
| 2019 | 14 | 0 |
| 2018 | 29 | 11 |
| 2017 | 12 | 0 |
| 2016 | 22 | 3 |
| 2015 | 4 | 0 |
| 2014 | 14 | 0 |
| 2013 | 13 | 0 |
| 2012 | 41 | 0 |
| 2011 | 15 | 0 |
| 2010 | 18 | 0 |
| 2009 | 5 | 0 |
| 2008 | 25 | 0 |
| 2007 | 19 | 0 |
| 2006 | 18 | 0 |
| 2005 | 28 | 1 |
| 2004 | 19 | 0 |
| 2003 | 1 | 0 |
| 2002 | 16 | 0 |
| 2001 | 14 | 2 |
| 2000 | 4 | 0 |
| 1999 | 12 | 4 |
| 1998 | 25 | 4 |
| 1997 | 10 | 0 |
| 1996 | 17 | 0 |
| 1995 | 2 | 1 |
| 1994 | 2 | 0 |
| 1992 | 3 | 0 |
| 1991 | 4 | 0 |
| 1990 | 3 | 0 |
| 1989 | 5 | 0 |
| 1988 | 1 | 0 |
| 1987 | 2 | 1 |
| 1986 | 2 | 0 |
| 1984 | 5 | 1 |
| 1983 | 7 | 0 |
| 1982 | 1 | 0 |
| 1981 | 4 | 0 |
| 1980 | 3 | 0 |
| 1978 | 1 | 0 |
| 1977 | 2 | 0 |
| 1976 | 1 | 0 |
| 1975 | 4 | 0 |
| 1974 | 2 | 0 |
| 1973 | 1 | 0 |
| 1971 | 3 | 0 |
| 1969 | 2 | 0 |
| 1968 | 5 | 3 |
| 1964 | 1 | 0 |
| 1962 | 2 | 0 |
| 1959 | 1 | 1 |
| 1958 | 1 | 0 |
Search your address
See every tornado that passed within 25 miles of a place in Rice County, measured to its path.
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