Minnesota
Minnesota regularly records wind chill values colder than Antarctica. Spring floods turn the Red River valley into an inland sea. Tornadoes cross the southern prairies. And the Boundary Waters burn. The state that freezes hardest also floods, burns, and blows.
Enter your Minnesota ZIP for live alerts, forecasts, and county-specific data.
Know your region
Duluth, Bemidji, International Falls, the Iron Range, the Boundary Waters. International Falls competes with Fairbanks for coldest city in the U.S. The 2021 Greenwood Fire burned 26,000 acres in the BWCA. Canadian wildfire smoke blankets the region every summer now.
Primary hazards: extreme cold, wildfire, winter storms, smoke
Moorhead, Crookston, East Grand Forks. The Red River flows north, creating ice jams that cause catastrophic spring flooding. The 1997 Grand Forks flood forced the evacuation of the entire city across the border. Fargo-Moorhead fights flooding nearly every spring.
Primary hazards: spring flooding, blizzards, extreme cold, tornadoes
Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Rochester, Mankato. The 2011 North Minneapolis tornado damaged 3,700 structures. The 1991 Halloween blizzard dropped 28 inches. Southern Minnesota's flat terrain produces tornadoes from June through August.
Primary hazards: tornadoes, severe storms, flooding, blizzards, extreme cold
Your hazard profile
Each links to a full guide with during-event protocol, recovery steps, and resources specific to MN.
Wind chill values below minus 40 degrees F are routine. Blizzards bring zero visibility. The 1991 Halloween blizzard dropped 28 inches on the Twin Cities. Frostbite occurs in minutes during extreme cold events.
Read the blizzards and extreme cold guide →
Minnesota averages 36 tornadoes per year. The 2011 North Minneapolis tornado damaged 3,700 structures. Peak season is June and July. Southern Minnesota's flat terrain gives tornadoes room to develop.
Read the tornadoes guide →
The 1997 Red River flood forced the evacuation of Grand Forks. Fargo-Moorhead fights spring flooding almost annually. The Minnesota and Mississippi rivers flood during spring snowmelt. Flash flooding occurs during summer thunderstorms.
Read the flooding guide →
Severe storms with large hail, damaging winds, and heavy rain occur regularly in summer. Derechos have caused widespread damage. Lightning is a leading cause of weather-related injuries.
Read the severe thunderstorms guide →
The 2021 Greenwood Fire burned 26,000 acres in the Boundary Waters. Northern Minnesota's boreal forests are vulnerable during dry summers. Canadian wildfire smoke degrades air quality statewide for weeks every summer.
Read the wildfires guide →
Minnesota resources
Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Coordinates disaster response and runs the state's hazard mitigation programs.
Central Minnesota forecasts. Severe weather warnings, winter storm advisories, wind chill alerts, and flood forecasts for the Twin Cities metro.
Minnesota's river monitoring network. Real-time streamflow data, flood stage information, and spring flood outlooks.
Statewide referral service. Energy assistance, disaster recovery, food banks, heating assistance, and housing resources.
The polar vortex years
In January 2019, the polar vortex pushed temperatures in Minnesota to minus 56 degrees F wind chill. At that temperature, exposed skin gets frostbite in under 5 minutes. Schools closed. Mail delivery stopped. The governor closed state offices. Two University of Minnesota students were hospitalized with frostbite walking between buildings.
Minnesota is accustomed to cold. What the polar vortex events of 2014 and 2019 demonstrated was that extreme cold is not just an inconvenience. It is a hazard that kills people who are caught without shelter, strains heating systems to their limits, and breaks infrastructure in ways that cascade through daily life.
For every Minnesota household, winter preparation is year-round. A backup heat source, a vehicle emergency kit that lives in the car from October through April, insulated pipes, and the discipline to check on neighbors when the wind chill drops below minus 30. Cold is the baseline hazard. Everything else is seasonal.