States › Minnesota › Clay County

Clay County, Minnesota

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 27027 · 65,574 residents (2021) · 1,045 sq mi · dominant hazard Hail

Hail · 222Tornado · 43Flood · 57Wind · 222Winter · 180

Clay County within Minnesota. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

The NCEI record lists 823 events for Clay County, Minnesota, between 1950 and 2026; hail account for the largest share.

That is 78.7 events per 100 square miles, in line with the Minnesota figure of 71.0, and 125.5 per 10,000 residents against 99.0 statewide.

27 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 2 deaths and 5 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $56M and crop damage at $11M.

FEMA has designated the county in 29 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Severe Storms And Flooding (major disaster, 19 Jul 2023).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 1,358 claims since 1978, of which 1,195 were paid, totalling $14M (about $12K per paid claim). FEMA counts 177 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Low" ($42M a year across 18 hazards).

27events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

823events since 19502 deaths, 5 injuries recorded

29disaster declarationslast 19 Jul 2023

1,358NFIP flood claims$14M paid

Compared with Minnesota and the United States

Measure	Clay County	Minnesota	US
Recorded events since 1950	823	56,524	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	78.7	71.0	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	125.5	99.0	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	27	1,956	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	2	293	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$56M	$5.9B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	20.7	2.2	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$12K	$16K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	1.1	13.9	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Hail: 1Tornado: 3

Hail: 5Tornado: 3Wind: 4

Hail: 11Tornado: 5Wind: 13

Hail: 18Tornado: 5Wind: 11

Hail: 34Tornado: 5Flood: 3Wind: 24Winter: 23Cold: 3Lightning: 1

Hail: 79Tornado: 8Flood: 28Wind: 53Winter: 53Cold: 17Drought: 2Lightning: 1

Hail: 52Tornado: 11Flood: 19Wind: 61Winter: 65Heat: 2Cold: 28Drought: 6Other: 11

Hail: 22Tornado: 3Flood: 7Wind: 56Winter: 39Heat: 1Cold: 20Drought: 5Lightning: 1Other: 1

41950s121960s291970s341980s931990s2412000s2552010s1552020s

Recorded events in Clay County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterHeatColdDroughtLightningOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 470 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 262 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Hail222

Wind222

Winter180

Cold68

Flood57

Tornado43

Drought13

Other12

Heat3

Lightning3

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Hail	222	—	1.4%	detail
■ Wind	222	—	1.5%	detail
■ Winter	180	—	1.5%	detail
■ Cold	68	1	1.6%
■ Flood	57	1	2.1%	detail
■ Tornado	43	—	1.8%	detail
■ Drought	13	—	0.9%
■ Other	12	—	0.9%
■ Heat	3	—	0.4%
■ Lightning	3	—	1.0%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
3 Dec 2007	Extreme Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
3 Apr 2011	Flood	Flood	—	—	—	1	—	County
11 Aug 1958	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$25K	—	—	3	County
16 Apr 1997	Flood	Flood	—	$25M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
14 May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	—	$10K	—	—	2	County
19 Jun 2000	Flood	Flood	—	—	$10M	—	—	Forecast zone
21 Sep 2007	Hail	Hail	3.00 in	$10M	—	—	—	County
5 Apr 1997	Blizzard	Winter	—	$5.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
19 Jun 2000	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$5.0M	—	—	—	County
6 Apr 2001	Flood	Flood	—	$3.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
4 Apr 1997	Ice Storm	Winter	—	$2.0M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
27 Nov 2005	Winter Storm	Winter	—	$1.3M	—	—	—	Forecast zone
1 Apr 2006	Flood	Flood	—	$996K	—	—	—	County
11 Jul 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	81 mph	$250K	$350K	—	—	County
19 Jun 2000	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$500K	—	—	—	County
11 Jul 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	70 mph	$150K	$250K	—	—	County
5 Jun 1996	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	$50K	—	—	County
20 Jun 1957	Tornado	Tornado	F5	$250K	—	—	—	County
9 Jun 1959	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$250K	—	—	—	County
28 Jun 1975	Tornado	Tornado	F4	$250K	—	—	—	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
19 Jul 2023	DR-4722	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
7 Apr 2020	DR-4531	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3453	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
12 Jun 2019	DR-4442	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Winter Storm, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding	Public assistance
10 May 2011	DR-1982	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
19 Apr 2010	DR-1900	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Public assistance
19 Mar 2010	EM-3310	Emergency	Flood	Flooding	Public assistance
9 Apr 2009	DR-1830	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
26 Mar 2009	EM-3304	Emergency	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
5 Jun 2006	DR-1648	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Public assistance
4 Jan 2006	DR-1622	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
13 Sep 2005	EM-3242	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Katrina Evacuation	Public assistance
14 Jun 2002	DR-1419	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Flooding And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
16 May 2001	DR-1370	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Winter Storms, Flooding, And Tornadoes	Individual assistance, Public assistance
27 Jun 2000	DR-1333	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
28 Jul 1999	DR-1283	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Winds, And Flooding	Public assistance
8 Apr 1997	DR-1175	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Flooding, High Winds,Severe Storms	Individual assistance, Public assistance
16 Jan 1997	DR-1158	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Winter Storms	Public assistance
1 Jun 1996	DR-1116	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding And Severe Storms	Public assistance
18 Aug 1995	DR-1064	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Thunderstorms, Winds, Flooding, Tornadoes, And Heat	Public assistance
11 Jun 1993	DR-993	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
8 May 1989	DR-824	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
30 Apr 1979	DR-582	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
22 Apr 1978	DR-555	Major disaster	Flood	Storms, Ice Jams, Snowmelt & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
17 Jun 1976	EM-3013	Emergency	Drought	Drought	Public assistance
17 Jul 1975	DR-476	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms, Tornadoes & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
10 Jun 1974	DR-440	Major disaster	Flood	Heavy Rains & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
18 Apr 1969	DR-255	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
22 Mar 1966	DR-215	Major disaster	Flood	Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Clay County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 19781,358

Paid claims1,195

Total paid$14M

Average paid claim$12K

Repetitive-loss properties355 severe

Residential policies in force1770.7% of 24,108 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2019	2	2	$65,296	$32,648
2016	2	0	$0	—
2015	1	1	$734	$734
2014	1	0	$0	—
2013	3	2	$1,718	$859
2011	74	67	$234,419	$3,499
2010	74	61	$146,739	$2,406
2009	334	298	$6,323,430	$21,220
2008	1	0	$0	—
2006	35	31	$222,133	$7,166
2005	1	1	$1,304	$1,304
2001	51	44	$60,777	$1,381
2000	32	26	$106,600	$4,100
1999	3	3	$232,474	$77,491
1998	7	4	$130,663	$32,666
1997	460	422	$4,781,513	$11,331
1996	1	1	$1,188	$1,188
1995	2	2	$5,681	$2,841
1993	31	16	$53,286	$3,330
1989	60	54	$221,096	$4,094
1988	1	0	$0	—
1984	4	2	$930	$465
1983	1	0	$0	—
1982	1	1	$743	$743
1981	2	1	$2,392	$2,392

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Lowscore 73.7 of 100

Expected annual loss$42MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityVery Low

Community resilienceRelatively High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Moderate	$28,263,318
Cold wave	Relatively Moderate	$6,562,370
Tornado	Relatively Low	$2,462,585
Strong wind	Relatively Moderate	$1,609,666
Hail	Relatively Moderate	$1,168,050
Winter weather	Relatively High	$1,008,131
Heat wave	Very Low	$277,554
Drought	Relatively Low	$180,184
Wildfire	Relatively Low	$164,536
Lightning	Relatively Low	$142,437
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$114,586
Earthquake	Very Low	$20,293
Landslide	Very Low	$1,500

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

No HURDAT2 track at tropical-storm strength passes within 100 miles of the county's centre point (through the 2025 season).

ZIP codes with flood claims

56560 1,155
56546 105
56547 31
56580 26
56529 12
56561 11
56549 8

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Clay County, MN?

NCEI records 222 hail events in Clay County since 1950, in 50 different years; that is about 2.9 recorded events a year. 57 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Clay County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 43 tornadoes in Clay County since 1950, 6 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Clay County?

19 Jul 2023: Severe Storms And Flooding, a major disaster declaration for flood. The county appears in 29 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Clay County, and how much was paid?

1,358 NFIP claims since 1978, 1,195 of them paid, for $14M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Clay County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively Low" for overall risk, "Relatively Low" for expected annual loss, "Very Low" for social vulnerability and "Relatively High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Clay County compare with the rest of Minnesota?

78.7 recorded events per 100 square miles against 71.0 statewide, and 20.7 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 2.2. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.