Minnesota tornado risk
Hennepin County has the highest tornado risk in Minnesota, scoring 99.6 out of 100 — rated "Very High" by FEMA's National Risk Index. NOAA has recorded 550 tornado events across Minnesota over the past decade.
| # | County | NRI score | Rating |
NOAA events 2016–2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hennepin County | 99.6 | Very High | 3 |
| 2 | Ramsey County | 98.7 | Relatively High | 1 |
| 3 | Dakota County | 97.4 | Relatively High | 13 |
| 4 | Washington County | 94.4 | Relatively High | 5 |
| 5 | Stearns County | 93 | Relatively High | 11 |
| 6 | Rice County | 89.4 | Relatively Moderate | 22 |
| 7 | Olmsted County | 89.3 | Relatively Moderate | 6 |
| 8 | Scott County | 89 | Relatively Moderate | 5 |
| 9 | Anoka County | 87.2 | Relatively Moderate | 5 |
| 10 | Otter Tail County | 84.2 | Relatively Moderate | 14 |
| 11 | Mower County | 81.2 | Relatively Moderate | 5 |
| 12 | Wright County | 80.4 | Relatively Moderate | 3 |
| 13 | Freeborn County | 79.6 | Relatively Moderate | 21 |
| 14 | Carver County | 79.5 | Relatively Moderate | 9 |
| 15 | Blue Earth County | 77.1 | Relatively Moderate | 6 |
| 16 | Winona County | 76 | Relatively Moderate | 12 |
| 17 | Nobles County | 73.5 | Relatively Moderate | 9 |
| 18 | Steele County | 71 | Relatively Moderate | 7 |
| 19 | Goodhue County | 70.7 | Relatively Moderate | 16 |
| 20 | Sherburne County | 70.4 | Relatively Moderate | 1 |
| 21 | Martin County | 68.5 | Relatively Moderate | 4 |
| 22 | McLeod County | 67.9 | Relatively Moderate | 9 |
| 23 | Benton County | 67.7 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 24 | St. Louis County | 64.7 | Relatively Low | 7 |
| 25 | Chisago County | 64.2 | Relatively Low | 4 |
| 26 | Douglas County | 62.5 | Relatively Low | 5 |
| 27 | Fillmore County | 62.3 | Relatively Low | 14 |
| 28 | Clay County | 62 | Relatively Low | 8 |
| 29 | Wabasha County | 61.7 | Relatively Low | 8 |
| 30 | Crow Wing County | 61.3 | Relatively Low | 6 |
| 31 | Kandiyohi County | 58.4 | Relatively Low | 10 |
| 32 | Faribault County | 57.7 | Relatively Low | 6 |
| 33 | Nicollet County | 57 | Relatively Low | 10 |
| 34 | Becker County | 56.8 | Relatively Low | 4 |
| 35 | Brown County | 56.6 | Relatively Low | 8 |
| 36 | Pine County | 52 | Relatively Low | 2 |
| 37 | Renville County | 51.5 | Relatively Low | 5 |
| 38 | Isanti County | 50.7 | Relatively Low | 2 |
| 39 | Morrison County | 49.2 | Relatively Low | 8 |
| 40 | Le Sueur County | 48.4 | Relatively Low | 5 |
| 41 | Meeker County | 48.4 | Relatively Low | 6 |
| 42 | Polk County | 47.5 | Relatively Low | 20 |
| 43 | Waseca County | 47.1 | Relatively Low | 9 |
| 44 | Watonwan County | 44.4 | Relatively Low | 2 |
| 45 | Chippewa County | 43.4 | Relatively Low | 6 |
| 46 | Dodge County | 43.4 | Relatively Low | 3 |
| 47 | Cass County | 42.9 | Relatively Low | 7 |
| 48 | Cottonwood County | 42.8 | Relatively Low | 9 |
| 49 | Sibley County | 42.3 | Relatively Low | 9 |
| 50 | Houston County | 41.9 | Relatively Low | 5 |
| 51 | Jackson County | 41.5 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 52 | Lyon County | 41.3 | Relatively Low | 2 |
| 53 | Beltrami County | 40.8 | Relatively Low | 17 |
| 54 | Todd County | 39.9 | Relatively Low | 8 |
| 55 | Murray County | 39.4 | Relatively Low | 10 |
| 56 | Redwood County | 39.3 | Relatively Low | 1 |
| 57 | Pipestone County | 38.5 | Relatively Low | 4 |
| 58 | Kanabec County | 38 | Relatively Low | 1 |
| 59 | Hubbard County | 37.8 | Relatively Low | 4 |
| 60 | Rock County | 36.2 | Relatively Low | 1 |
| 61 | Carlton County | 33.5 | Relatively Low | 3 |
| 62 | Yellow Medicine County | 33.5 | Relatively Low | 2 |
| 63 | Mille Lacs County | 30.8 | Relatively Low | 2 |
| 64 | Wadena County | 30.3 | Relatively Low | 4 |
| 65 | Pope County | 30.2 | Relatively Low | 8 |
| 66 | Lac qui Parle County | 30 | Relatively Low | 5 |
| 67 | Swift County | 28.6 | Relatively Low | 11 |
| 68 | Lincoln County | 28.4 | Relatively Low | 1 |
| 69 | Itasca County | 28.1 | Relatively Low | 3 |
| 70 | Pennington County | 26.4 | Relatively Low | 4 |
| 71 | Stevens County | 24.8 | Very Low | 3 |
| 72 | Aitkin County | 23.9 | Very Low | 6 |
| 73 | Big Stone County | 23.3 | Very Low | 7 |
| 74 | Norman County | 23.1 | Very Low | 14 |
| 75 | Mahnomen County | 22.9 | Very Low | 6 |
| 76 | Grant County | 20.5 | Very Low | 12 |
| 77 | Wilkin County | 19.2 | Very Low | 6 |
| 78 | Marshall County | 19.1 | Very Low | 6 |
| 79 | Traverse County | 18.5 | Very Low | 8 |
| 80 | Roseau County | 17.5 | Very Low | 4 |
| 81 | Clearwater County | 17.3 | Very Low | 1 |
| 82 | Kittson County | 13.5 | Very Low | 1 |
| 83 | Lake County | 10.7 | Very Low | 2 |
| 84 | Red Lake County | 8.6 | Very Low | 2 |
| 85 | Koochiching County | 5.3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 86 | Lake of the Woods County | 5.2 | Very Low | 4 |
| 87 | Cook County | 2.9 | Very Low | 2 |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0, December 2025. Scores are 0–100 percentile rankings among all US counties. See the methodology page for definitions. Download the full CSV for all counties.
Tornado risk nationally:
Other hazard risks in Minnesota:
Frequently asked questions
What is the highest tornado risk county in Minnesota?
Hennepin County, MN has the highest tornado risk in Minnesota, with a FEMA National Risk Index score of 99.6 out of 100 (rated "Very High").
How many counties in Minnesota are rated Very High for tornado risk?
1 of 87 scored Minnesota counties are rated "Very High" for tornado risk by FEMA's National Risk Index.
What causes tornado risk in Minnesota?
Tornado risk concentrates in the central and southern plains ("Tornado Alley") and the Southeast ("Dixie Alley"), where atmospheric conditions favor supercell thunderstorm development. The highest scores often belong to counties with significant mobile home and manufactured housing stock, which carries disproportionate tornado mortality risk.