Elbow Lake, MN Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Elbow Lake is about the same as Minnesota average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Elbow Lake is lower than Minnesota average and is lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #22
| Elbow Lake, MN | 0.04 |
| Minnesota | 0.01 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| Elbow Lake, MN | 0.0000 |
| Minnesota | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #524
| Elbow Lake, MN | 124.20 |
| Minnesota | 135.90 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 1,910 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Elbow Lake, MN were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 0 | Cold: | 0 | Dense Fog: | 0 | Drought: | 0 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 131 | Hail: | 975 | Heat: | 0 | Heavy Snow: | 0 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 0 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 0 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 712 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 0 | Winter Storm: | 0 | Winter Weather: | 0 |
| Other: | 92 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Elbow Lake, MN.
Historical Earthquake Events
A total of 1 historical earthquake event that had a recorded magnitude of 3.5 or above found in or near Elbow Lake, MN.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Depth (km) | Latitude | Longitude |
| 22.3 | 1975-07-09 | 5 | N/A | 45.67 | -96.04 |
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 43 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Elbow Lake, MN.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 11.9 | 1982-05-10 | 3 | 46°02'N / 96°16'W | 46°04'N / 96°10'W | 6.00 Miles | 80 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Grant |
| 12.7 | 1987-08-15 | 2 | 46°03'N / 95°44'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 1 | 8 | 2.5M | 0 | Otter Tail | |
| 14.0 | 1984-04-26 | 2 | 45°47'N / 95°53'W | 45°53'N / 95°43'W | 11.50 Miles | 800 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Grant |
| 14.2 | 1982-05-10 | 3 | 46°01'N / 96°17'W | 46°02'N / 96°16'W | 1.00 Mile | 80 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Traverse |
| 15.5 | 1984-04-26 | 2 | 45°46'N / 95°54'W | 45°47'N / 95°53'W | 1.00 Mile | 800 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Stevens |
| 18.8 | 1982-05-10 | 3 | 46°01'N / 96°28'W | 46°01'N / 96°17'W | 8.00 Miles | 80 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Traverse |
| 24.8 | 1974-07-13 | 2 | 46°19'N / 96°04'W | 46°23'N / 95°57'W | 6.40 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Otter Tail |
| 24.9 | 1996-10-26 | 2 | 45°49'N / 95°29'W | 45°56'N / 95°30'W | 9.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Douglas |
| Brief Description: Several homes destroyed. Car flipped over. 1 women sustained broken bones and internal injuries when a portion of her house, with her inside, was flung 200 feet onto the interstate. 500 pound fuel tank pushed over. | |||||||||||
| 26.6 | 2005-06-29 | 2 | 46°22'N / 95°57'W | 46°23'N / 95°56'W | 1.50 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Otter Tail |
| Brief Description: The tornado flattened an older barn and uprooted several trees. Two people narrowly escaped the tornado as it hit the barn. The landowner reported that another tornado had hit another barn on same site back in 1933. Peak winds were estimated at 130 mph. | |||||||||||
| 27.5 | 1965-05-05 | 2 | 45°54'N / 95°25'W | 46°12'N / 95°25'W | 20.70 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Douglas |
| 28.1 | 2010-08-07 | 4 | 46°07'N / 96°33'W | 46°09'N / 96°31'W | 3.00 Miles | 600 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Wilkin |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado began in Richland County, North Dakota, at 625 pm CDT, where it had a path length of 2.5 miles. It continued in Wilkin County, Minnesota, where it finally lifted about 2.5 miles southwest of Doran. The total path length was roughly five miles and peak winds were estimated at 175 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: By late in the day on the 7th, an east-west lying warm front had set up just north of the South Dakota border, extending eastward into west central Minnesota. South of the warm front, temperatures were in the mid to upper 80s with dew points in the lower 70s. Thunderstorms formed along and north of the warm front and several produced tornadoes. | |||||||||||
| 29.6 | 1964-05-05 | 3 | 46°03'N / 96°36'W | 46°08'N / 96°34'W | 5.20 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 11 | 0K | 0 | Richland |
| 29.6 | 1964-05-05 | 3 | 46°08'N / 96°34'W | 46°08'N / 96°34'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Wilkin | ||
| 29.7 | 1977-08-26 | 2 | 46°18'N / 96°12'W | 46°26'N / 95°10'W | 50.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 8 | 250K | 0 | Otter Tail |
| 29.7 | 2010-08-07 | 4 | 46°06'N / 96°37'W | 46°06'N / 96°33'W | 3.00 Miles | 600 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Richland |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado touched down south of Tyler and tracked to the east for roughly 2.5 miles before crossing the Bois de Sioux River into Wilkin County, Minnesota. In Wilkin County, the tornado continued for another 2.5 miles and lifted about 650 pm CDT. The total track length was about 5 miles and peak winds were estimated at 175 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: By late in the day on the 7th, an east-west lying warm front had set up just north of the South Dakota border, extending eastward into west central Minnesota. South of the warm front, temperatures were in the mid to upper 80s with dew points in the lower 70s. Thunderstorms formed along and north of the warm front and several produced tornadoes. | |||||||||||
| 30.9 | 1990-06-01 | 2 | 45°57'N / 95°20'W | 46°05'N / 95°21'W | 10.00 Miles | 20 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Douglas |
| 32.6 | 1970-07-18 | 2 | 46°03'N / 95°21'W | 46°03'N / 95°16'W | 3.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 5 | 2.5M | 0 | Douglas |
| 33.1 | 1953-05-10 | 2 | 45°25'N / 95°45'W | 45°40'N / 95°44'W | 17.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Pope |
| 34.6 | 1959-07-07 | 2 | 45°40'N / 95°28'W | 45°48'N / 95°16'W | 13.00 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Pope |
| 35.3 | 1964-06-18 | 3 | 45°38'N / 95°28'W | 45°42'N / 95°22'W | 6.20 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 13 | 250K | 0 | Pope |
| 36.3 | 2005-06-20 | 2 | 46°27'N / 95°38'W | 46°26'N / 95°33'W | 4.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Otter Tail |
| Brief Description: Large trees were uprooted and a roof was torn off a house. The top was torn off a wooden grain elevator in Ottertail and a nearby grain bin was bent inward. A gas pump was blown over at a convenience store, causing a fire. The tornado also tore the roof off a business in Ottertail and destroyed its sign. A delivery truck was lifted off the ground and thrown 20 feet onto a nearby car. | |||||||||||
| 39.0 | 2001-06-13 | 3 | 46°10'N / 95°20'W | 46°17'N / 95°09'W | 11.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 3 | 5.0M | 0 | Otter Tail |
| Brief Description: The tornado caused quite a bit of damage along its path across southeast Otter Tail county before it crossed into Todd county. At one farmstead, 9 people huddled inside a house with no basement as its roof was torn off. Nobody was injured, but another trailer home nearby was completely destroyed. Many irrigation systems were overturned, trees, power poles, and lines snapped, and grain bins destroyed by the strong wind. An estimated 100 poles were broken off leaving nearly 1,100 people without power. At another farm, a 40x80 foot pole barn was wrecked. About 6 miles northeast of Parkers Prairie, a man and his two kids rode out the storm in their minivan inside a quonset. Trees all around them and the quonset were crumpled by the wind, yet they survived. Another farmstead lost a house, trailer home, and two silos. A turkey barn containing 12,000 turkeys was also hit, with an estimated 60 percent of the turkeys perishing. | |||||||||||
| 39.3 | 1959-07-07 | 2 | 46°30'N / 95°37'W | 2.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Otter Tail | |
| 39.8 | 2010-06-17 | 4 | 46°06'N / 95°25'W | 46°36'N / 95°15'W | 38.00 Miles | 2288 Yards | 1 | 5 | 0K | 0K | Otter Tail |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado began in Douglas County, Minnesota. It moved northward into Otter Tail County and produced an additional 38 miles of continuous damage path. The tornado destroyed numerous homes and farmsteads along its path, completely sweeping 7 homes from their foundations. At times, this multi-vortex tornado complex consisted of multiple tornadic tubes pivoting around a common center. Peak winds were estimated at 175 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Conditions were ripe by the afternoon of the 17th for a major severe weather outbreak. A surface low had moved into east central North Dakota with an occluded front extending to the southeast. Warm and humid air was in place ahead of the front, with a much drier airmass pushing in behind it. The 500mb low was located over northwest North Dakota with a nice southwest to northeast upper jet pushing into eastern North Dakota. Two lines of convection formed by late afternoon, one from Roseau County down toward Eastern Otter Tail County and the other over east central North Dakota. Nearly all the cells that formed took on a classic hook shape with rotation very evident on radar imagery. Multiple tornado warnings were issued before the event wound down by mid evening. The strongest tornadoes were determined to be EF4 tornadoes, two in west central Minnesota and one in northeast North Dakota. | |||||||||||
| 40.1 | 2002-06-19 | 2 | 46°32'N / 96°17'W | 46°32'N / 96°17'W | 0.20 Mile | 25 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Wilkin |
| Brief Description: A brief tornado touchdown demolished a 76x296 foot roof on a turkey barn. | |||||||||||
| 40.5 | 1996-10-26 | 2 | 46°19'N / 95°22'W | 46°31'N / 95°26'W | 17.00 Miles | 75 Yards | 0 | 1 | 400K | 0 | Otter Tail |
| Brief Description: This tornado followed a track through eastern Otter Tail county, with the first damage report along Highway 210. A man stopped his car along the road when he saw the threatening clouds. The tornado picked his car up and spun it around, with the man inside. The car windows were all broken, but the man only sustained cuts on his hands. The tornado destroyed several farm buildings, one full of dairy cows. 21 of the cows were killed. The last damage report was just west of New York Mills. Two deer hunters were in tree stands when the storm approached. One managed to get down to the ground and lay flat, but the other clung to the tree as the tornado passed. As the wind died down, the man found his tree was the only one left standing in a grove of 36 around him. Neither man was injured. | |||||||||||
| 41.0 | 1955-07-02 | 3 | 46°31'N / 96°42'W | 46°16'N / 96°32'W | 18.70 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Wilkin |
| 41.1 | 2004-09-05 | 2 | 46°31'N / 95°41'W | 46°34'N / 95°38'W | 4.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Otter Tail |
| Brief Description: A tornado tracked through pasture, forest, and corn fields. Numerous trees were knocked down and one farmstead received extensive barn, shed, and home damage. Twelve head of cattle were killed. Several trees were toppled onto homes near Marion Lake. Farmyard debris was carried as far as Perham, about 7 miles northeast. | |||||||||||
| 41.9 | 2004-09-23 | 2 | 45°42'N / 96°44'W | 45°45'N / 96°48'W | 2.20 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Roberts |
| Brief Description: The storm entered South Dakota from Traverse county, Minnesota where it produced a tornado. The storm produced a second tornado as it crossed Lake Traverse into South Dakota. This tornado was stronger and destroyed a house, a mobile home, and a travel trailer. Another house and travel trailer were damaged and a shed was also ripped apart. The tornado also killed three cattle. | |||||||||||
| 42.1 | 1950-06-15 | 2 | 46°35'N / 96°20'W | 46°31'N / 96°20'W | 4.60 Miles | 67 Yards | 0 | 4 | 3K | 0 | Wilkin |
| 42.2 | 1996-05-17 | 3 | 45°23'N / 96°34'W | 45°33'N / 96°18'W | 17.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 1.5M | 0 | Big Stone |
| Brief Description: A tornado crossing Big Stone Lake from Roberts County, South Dakota destroyed one cabin at the Meadowbrook Resort, blew the roof off another cabin, and another cabin was demolished when a big tree fell onto it. Several boats on Big Stone Lake were overturned. Approxiamately 150 buildings sustained damage or were destroyed as the tornado moved northeast across Big Stone County through the townships of Prior, Big Stone, Almond, Malta, and Moonshine. Southwest of Clinton, a pontoon boat and a camper were destroyed. East of Clinton, a farm lost all buildings with severe damage to their home. The cupboards fell off the walls and doors would not close, signifying a twisted frame. Northeast of Clinton, another farm suffered damage to all structures. Half of the roof was torn off their home. Two miles south of Johnson, a house (rambler) was completely destroyed and several barns and machine sheds were destroyed, before the tornado lifted. Many trees were uprooted in the path of the tornado across Big Stone County and much of the power was out in the County as power lines were downed. | |||||||||||
| 42.6 | 1964-05-05 | 2 | 45°48'N / 96°52'W | 45°52'N / 96°49'W | 4.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Roberts |
| 43.2 | 1964-05-05 | 2 | 46°36'N / 95°59'W | 46°38'N / 95°57'W | 0 | 13 | 250K | 0 | Otter Tail | ||
| 43.3 | 2007-06-07 | 2 | 46°34'N / 96°00'W | 46°40'N / 95°52'W | 7.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Otter Tail |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A tornado touched down near the southwest end of Lake Lida, crossed Lake Lida and Crystal Lake (moving north-northeast), and lifted around 4 miles west of Vergas. Several houses were structurally damaged on Lake Lida and Crystal Lake. Boats, docks, travel trailers, and mobile homes were lofted and completely destroyed. Numerous power poles and trees were snapped off, cutting power to nearly 400 customers. Peak winds were estimated at 130 to 135 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: By noon on the 7th, a surface low was located near Lake Park, Minnesota, with a trailing cold front extending back into extreme southeast North Dakota. An occluded front also extended to the northeast, toward the Bemidji, MN, area. Surface dew points pooled right around 60 F in the vicinity of the surface low with temperatures in the middle 70s. The cold front was strong for early June, with a noon temperature in Devils Lake, ND, of 48 degrees. This set up a strong surface thermal and moisture boundary along a Wahpeton-Breckenridge to Bemidji line. Storms initially fired across southeast ND and then spread into portions of west central and northwest MN. There was also strong upper level support for these storms, as one severe report north of Embden (in Cass County, ND) occurred well behind the surface boundary. | |||||||||||
| 44.1 | 1965-05-05 | 2 | 46°28'N / 95°25'W | 46°32'N / 95°26'W | 3.60 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Douglas |
| 44.4 | 1954-08-15 | 2 | 45°25'N / 95°30'W | 45°31'N / 95°24'W | 7.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Swift |
| 45.2 | 2001-06-13 | 3 | 46°16'N / 95°09'W | 46°17'N / 95°07'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 10K | 0 | Todd |
| Brief Description: NWS Grand Forks damage survey revealed an F3 tornado touch down in Otter Tail County, one mile NW of Parkers Prairie at 1753 CST. It tracked to just southeast of Wrightstown, for an 11 mile path in Otter Tail County. It then continued on for one mile in Todd County where it dissipated 3 WNW of Bertha. Total path length 12 miles. | |||||||||||
| 46.4 | 1956-10-29 | 2 | 45°31'N / 96°40'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Big Stone | |||
| 47.1 | 2005-06-20 | 2 | 46°25'N / 95°14'W | 46°26'N / 95°13'W | 0.30 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Otter Tail |
| Brief Description: A potato warehouse was completely torn apart by the tornado and debris was scattered several hundred feet downwind (east). Other nearby structures were not seriously damaged. A turkey barn roof was also partially removed. Estimated wind speeds were around 150 mph. | |||||||||||
| 48.1 | 1992-06-16 | 2 | 45°19'N / 95°44'W | 1.50 Miles | 13 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Swift | |
| 48.9 | 2009-07-14 | 2 | 45°24'N / 95°24'W | 45°27'N / 95°21'W | 4.00 Miles | 350 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 50K | Pope |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A National Weather Service storm survey and visual reports confirmed that a tornado moved through portions of Swift and Pope Counties in west central Minnesota where two turkey barns and several outbuildings were destroyed, with extensive tree damage throughout the entire path. Maximum damage was EF-2 with estimated winds of 111-119 mph. In the town of Swift Falls, two residences were damaged along with two garages that were destroyed. The tornado was produced minor crop damage northeast of Swift Falls. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A strong cold front, deep moisture and a high shear environment led to severe weather across portions of central Minnesota late Tuesday afternoon and evening of July 14th. Several individual storms developed across west central Minnesota and moved quickly northeast and spawned three tornadoes near Swift Falls, Elrosa and Spicer, Minnesota. In addition, several strong thunderstorms tracked across northern Todd and far northwestern Morrison County where two to four inches of rain fell in a short period of time. Due to the highly moist environment, and high rainfall rates, several areas of urban flooding was reported. One was in the community of Staples, and another was in St. Cloud. | |||||||||||
| 48.9 | 2010-06-17 | 4 | 46°24'N / 95°10'W | 46°25'N / 95°09'W | 2.00 Miles | 1936 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Otter Tail |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado touched down in Otter Tail County and tracked northeastward for about 2 miles before crossing into Wadena County just southwest of the Wadena city limits. The tornado developed rapidly into a multi-vortex wedge type tornado as it approached Wadena. The tornado continued in Wadena County another 8 miles and ended about 516 PM CDT. Otter Tail County received mainly extreme tree damage with peak winds estimated at 170 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Conditions were ripe by the afternoon of the 17th for a major severe weather outbreak. A surface low had moved into east central North Dakota with an occluded front extending to the southeast. Warm and humid air was in place ahead of the front, with a much drier airmass pushing in behind it. The 500mb low was located over northwest North Dakota with a nice southwest to northeast upper jet pushing into eastern North Dakota. Two lines of convection formed by late afternoon, one from Roseau County down toward Eastern Otter Tail County and the other over east central North Dakota. Nearly all the cells that formed took on a classic hook shape with rotation very evident on radar imagery. Multiple tornado warnings were issued before the event wound down by mid evening. The strongest tornadoes were determined to be EF4 tornadoes, two in west central Minnesota and one in northeast North Dakota. | |||||||||||
| 49.6 | 2009-07-14 | 2 | 45°22'N / 95°28'W | 45°24'N / 95°24'W | 4.00 Miles | 350 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 50K | Swift |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A National Weather Service storm survey and visual reports confirmed that a tornado moved through portions of Swift and Pope Counties in west central Minnesota where two turkey barns and several outbuildings were destroyed, with extensive tree damage throughout the entire path. Maximum damage was EF-2 with estimated winds of 111-119 mph. In the town of Swift Falls, two residences were damaged along with two garages that were destroyed. The tornado was produced minor crop damage northeast of Swift Falls. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A strong cold front, deep moisture and a high shear environment led to severe weather across portions of central Minnesota late Tuesday afternoon and evening of July 14th. Several individual storms developed across west central Minnesota and moved quickly northeast and spawned three tornadoes near Swift Falls, Elrosa and Spicer, Minnesota. In addition, several strong thunderstorms tracked across northern Todd and far northwestern Morrison County where two to four inches of rain fell in a short period of time. Due to the highly moist environment, and high rainfall rates, several areas of urban flooding was reported. One was in the community of Staples, and another was in St. Cloud. | |||||||||||
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.