Rochester, MN Tornado History — 91 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Rochester, MN had?
Rochester has had 91 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 1 violent (EF3+) tornado.
When was the most recent tornado near Rochester?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Rochester was an EF1 on June 25, 2025.
When is tornado season in Rochester?
June is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Rochester, with 34 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 Rochester
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 25 total, averaging 1.3 per year over this window.
Preliminary tornado reports near Rochester since December 29, 2025
These are 3 preliminary reports, not confirmed tornadoes. They have not yet been through an NWS damage survey, and are not counted in the confirmed totals above.
Preliminary reports are revised, merged, and sometimes withdrawn — historically about 23% are consolidated downward once surveys complete. Ratings are omitted until a survey assigns one.
Confirmed records above are complete through December 29, 2025. NOAA publishes the confirmed archive annually, so tornadoes after that date appear here first and move into the totals above once finalized.
Within 25 miles of Rochester. Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center preliminary storm reports, updated daily.
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
Have any tornadoes near Rochester been fatal?
No fatalities are on record within 25 miles of Rochester from any of the 91 tornadoes since 1950, though 53 injuries have been reported. NOAA Storm Prediction Center records.
Notable Tornadoes Near Rochester
About Tornadoes in Rochester
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.
Organized tornado observation around Rochester dates to the middle of the twentieth century, when Weather Bureau surveys and trained spotters began documenting storms across the Zumbro River valley farm country of southeastern Minnesota. Those decades of watching reveal a distinct seasonal rhythm: severe weather builds through late spring as Gulf of Mexico moisture streams up the Mississippi Valley, peaks while strong jet-stream winds still overlap unstable surface air, and eases as midsummer heat settles in. The rolling cropland here offers a supercell little resistance.
The archive kept by the NOAA Storm Prediction Center shows what that rhythm can produce. A striking entry came out of season: the F4 of September 16, 1962 injured 34 people despite covering barely a half mile. Springtime has delivered the long-track storms: an F2 ran 23.6 miles across the countryside on May 6, 1965, and another F2 plowed a path close to 26 miles on May 17, 1982, injuring 3 people.
Recent decades have kept to the same calendar even as ratings have run lower. An EF2 crossed the area on June 18, 2010, injuring a resident on its 6.61-mile track; an EF1 traveled 19.74 miles on May 21, 2024; and another EF1 touched down on June 25, 2025. The event list elsewhere on this page carries the particulars; the takeaway is that late spring and early summer remain the season for Olmsted County to take warnings seriously.