St. Cloud Metro Area Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
The chance of earthquake damage in St. Cloud Area is about the same as Minnesota average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in St. Cloud Area is lower than Minnesota average and is lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #752
| St. Cloud Area | 0.01 |
| 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, #129
| St. Cloud Area | 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, #554
| St. Cloud Area | 118.48 |
| 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 9,565 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of St. Cloud Area 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: | 57 | Cold: | 41 | Dense Fog: | 2 | Drought: | 19 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 343 | Hail: | 4,523 | Heat: | 8 | Heavy Snow: | 59 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 9 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 61 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 3,880 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 0 | Winter Storm: | 133 | Winter Weather: | 27 |
| Other: | 403 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near St. Cloud Area.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near St. Cloud Area.
No historical earthquake events found in or near St. Cloud Area.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 30 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near St. Cloud Area.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 2.3 | 1958-06-04 | 2 | 45°36'N / 94°35'W | 45°36'N / 94°18'W | 13.30 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Stearns |
| 6.3 | 1996-10-26 | 2 | 45°35'N / 94°38'W | 45°38'N / 94°36'W | 5.00 Miles | 350 Yards | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Stearns |
| Brief Description: House collapsed on top of family. Outbuildings destroyed. | |||||||||||
| 13.1 | 1964-05-05 | 3 | 45°35'N / 94°47'W | 45°39'N / 94°44'W | 4.30 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Stearns |
| 14.9 | 1980-09-03 | 3 | 45°32'N / 94°13'W | 45°35'N / 94°09'W | 3.80 Miles | 60 Yards | 1 | 15 | 25.0M | 0 | Stearns |
| 15.8 | 1970-07-18 | 2 | 45°45'N / 94°15'W | 2.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Benton | |
| 18.2 | 1967-07-22 | 2 | 45°28'N / 94°11'W | 45°28'N / 94°08'W | 1.90 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Stearns |
| 19.3 | 1980-09-03 | 2 | 45°38'N / 94°53'W | 1.00 Mile | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Stearns | |
| 19.6 | 1953-03-21 | 2 | 45°35'N / 94°05'W | 1 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Stearns | |||
| 22.2 | 1981-03-25 | 2 | 45°50'N / 94°11'W | 3.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Morrison | |
| 24.4 | 1997-09-18 | 2 | 45°53'N / 94°18'W | 45°53'N / 94°06'W | 8.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Morrison |
| Brief Description: Several buildings severely damaged. Numerous trees and power lines down. | |||||||||||
| 26.2 | 1977-06-17 | 2 | 45°42'N / 93°58'W | 0.70 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Benton | |
| 26.4 | 1967-07-22 | 2 | 45°28'N / 94°08'W | 45°26'N / 93°50'W | 14.50 Miles | 200 Yards | 1 | 12 | 2.5M | 0 | Sherburne |
| 27.3 | 1992-06-16 | 2 | 45°40'N / 93°56'W | 0.30 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Benton | |
| 28.9 | 1982-09-12 | 2 | 45°45'N / 93°56'W | 0.80 Mile | 3 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Benton | |
| 29.8 | 2001-06-13 | 2 | 45°59'N / 94°32'W | 46°04'N / 94°26'W | 4.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 200K | 0 | Morrison |
| Brief Description: One home lost its roof. Several sheds and outbuildings blown down. Two additional homes sustained minor damage. | |||||||||||
| 33.4 | 1992-06-16 | 2 | 45°14'N / 94°04'W | 45°20'N / 93°51'W | 10.00 Miles | 80 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Wright |
| 34.7 | 1961-06-30 | 2 | 46°01'N / 94°06'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Morrison | |||
| 35.7 | 1981-06-14 | 2 | 45°13'N / 93°59'W | 2.90 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Wright | |
| 36.3 | 1997-07-01 | 2 | 45°18'N / 93°56'W | 45°17'N / 93°49'W | 5.00 Miles | 550 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Wright |
| Brief Description: Two tornadoes converged on the Prairie Acres housing development 1 south of Monticello at about the same time. Extensive damage in area. | |||||||||||
| 38.3 | 1992-06-16 | 3 | 45°01'N / 94°14'W | 45°09'N / 94°07'W | 10.00 Miles | 120 Yards | 0 | 8 | 0K | 0 | Wright |
| 38.9 | 1997-07-01 | 2 | 45°16'N / 93°49'W | 45°18'N / 93°49'W | 2.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Wright |
| 39.9 | 1997-07-01 | 3 | 45°07'N / 94°01'W | 45°10'N / 93°56'W | 5.00 Miles | 800 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Wright |
| Brief Description: House completely destroyed on west side of Birch Lake. | |||||||||||
| 41.3 | 1997-09-18 | 3 | 46°04'N / 94°03'W | 46°03'N / 93°51'W | 9.00 Miles | 800 Yards | 1 | 1 | 1.7M | 0 | Morrison |
| Brief Description: Several buildings destroyed and numerous other buildings damaged. Hundreds of trees down. A number of cattle killed in barn collapse. One man injured when the tornado engulfed his car and threw it into a nearby woods. A second man critically injured when his garage collapsed. He died several weeks later. Total path length of tornado from 1 NE of Lastrup to Onamia was 17 miles. M57PH | |||||||||||
| 43.5 | 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 |
| 44.4 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 45.0 | 2008-07-11 | 3 | 45°04'N / 95°08'W | 45°05'N / 94°58'W | 8.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 2 | 0K | 0K | Kandiyohi |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: Three homes were destroyed and eight others were damaged. Barns and sheds were destroyed, along with two businesses, including two turkey barns. At Highway 71 and County Rd. 19 a small trailer was turned on its side, and several farm tractors were turned on their sides. Two minor injuries occurred at a turkey barn 2.5 miles South of Downtown Willmar. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Instability ahead of a cold front which moved from the Central Dakotas on the morning of the 11th, to the Eastern half of Minnesota by the early evening hours, was the prime ingredient for scattered to numerous severe thunderstorms across the region, during this period. | |||||||||||
| 48.2 | 1983-06-13 | 2 | 44°54'N / 94°22'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Mcleod | |
| 48.3 | 1951-06-19 | 4 | 44°53'N / 94°22'W | 45°12'N / 93°23'W | 52.60 Miles | 330 Yards | 0 | 11 | 2.5M | 0 | Mcleod |
| 49.0 | 1977-07-27 | 2 | 44°53'N / 94°32'W | 44°53'N / 94°29'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Meeker | ||
| 49.1 | 1997-09-18 | 3 | 46°05'N / 93°50'W | 46°05'N / 93°40'W | 8.00 Miles | 800 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Mille Lacs |
| Brief Description: Several buildings destroyed and numerous other buildings damaged. Hundreds of trees down. A number of cattle killed in barn collapse. Damage estimate included in entry for Morrison county. Total path length from 1 NE of Lastup to Onamia was 17 miles. | |||||||||||
* 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.