Minneapolis, MN Tornado History — 102 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Minneapolis, MN had?
Minneapolis has had 102 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 12 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Minneapolis?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Minneapolis was an EF1 on June 28, 2025.
When is tornado season in Minneapolis?
July is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Minneapolis, with 25 on record. Spring through early summer (April–June) generally sees the highest activity across most of the central and southern United States.
At a Glance
Recent Tornado Activity Near Minneapolis
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 43 total, averaging 2.1 per year over this window.
Tornadoes by Decade
Tornadoes by Enhanced Fujita Rating
F0–F5 ratings (pre-2007) are grouped with their EF equivalents. The Enhanced Fujita scale replaced the original Fujita scale in February 2007.
Tornadoes by Month
Casualties on Record Near Minneapolis
24 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of Minneapolis since 1950, across 11 events. 834 injuries have been reported across all events. 1965 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was a F4 on May 6, 1965, which caused 6 fatalities along a 17.3-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Minneapolis
About Tornadoes in Minneapolis
This overview was written August 10, 2026. The tornado counts and notable-event figures elsewhere on this page reflect the latest data and may differ from this summary.
Minneapolis has had its tornadoes documented with unusual care since mid-century, when systematic storm surveys took hold across the Upper Midwest, and the NOAA Storm Prediction Center curates that long record today. Geography does the city few favors. The metro spreads across low, glacially planed terrain where the Mississippi and Minnesota river valleys converge, and little in that gentle landscape slows the warm, humid Gulf of Mexico air that surges north to collide with cool, dry Canadian air. When the jet stream sharpens the clash in late spring and early summer, thunderstorms over the Twin Cities can begin rotating quickly, and the shallow valleys and lake basins offer scant shelter.
The record's mid-century chapters show what those ingredients can do. An F4 tornado carved a 52.6-mile path across the area on June 19, 1951, killing one person and injuring 20. On May 7, 1965, a family of F4 tornadoes swept through the metro; one of them killed 6 people and injured 158 along a 17.3-mile track. An F3 on June 14, 1981 ran 16.2 miles through the southern suburbs, claiming one life and injuring 83, while a compact F4 on July 3, 1983 hurt 4 people despite a path of roughly a mile. The event list elsewhere on this page traces the fuller sweep, decade by decade, from the 1950s onward.