Storm risk in St. Louis County, Minnesota
FEMA's overall hazard score for St. Louis County is 91.57 (Relatively Moderate), 266th of 3,144 counties. Hail scores 84.03 (Relatively Moderate), strong wind 71.34 (Relatively Moderate) and tornado 64.73 (Relatively Low). Expected hail loss is $19 per $1 million of buildings a year; NOAA logged 239 hail reports in St. Louis County from 2014 to June 2026.
FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026. NOAA hail reports 2014 to June 2026.
- St. Louis County, coloured by its FEMA rating
- all U.S. counties
- each county in the state
- U.S. median
- state median
Expected yearly loss per $1 million of buildings, log scale. Dot colour is FEMA’s rating band. The tornado lane counts everything exposed, not only buildings.
How FEMA rates St. Louis County
| Hazard | Rating | Score (0 to 100) | Rank in U.S. | Rank in MN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Relatively Moderate | 91.57 | 266 of 3,144 | 3 of 87 |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | 84.03 | 503 of 3,126 | 16 of 87 |
| Strong wind | Relatively Moderate | 71.34 | 902 of 3,126 | 36 of 87 |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | 64.73 | 1,110 of 3,126 | 24 of 87 |
Expected yearly loss, in dollars
| Hazard | This county, total a year | Per $1M of buildings | State median county | U.S. median county | Rank per $1M, U.S. | Rank per $1M, state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | $1,101,593 | $19 | $28 | $22 | 1,693 of 3,126 | 59 of 87 |
| Strong wind | $27,982 | $0.48 | $53 | $20 | 3,065 of 3,121 | 87 of 87 |
| Tornado | $2,229,793 | $38 | $187 | $199 | 2,518 of 3,144 | 81 of 87 |
Rank 1 is the highest. Overall, hail and wind losses count buildings; the tornado row counts everything FEMA exposes, so it overstates building damage. Expected annual loss is an average over many years for the whole county, not a forecast for one roof.
What stands out in St. Louis County
- FEMA expects hail in St. Louis County to cost $19 per $1 million of buildings a year: 0.84 times the U.S. median and 0.68 times the MN county median, ranked 1,693rd of 3,126 counties nationally and 59th of 87 in Minnesota.
- FEMA expects strong wind in St. Louis County to cost $0.48 per $1 million of buildings a year: 0.02 times the U.S. median and 0.009 times the MN county median, ranked 3,065th of 3,121 counties nationally and 87th of 87 in Minnesota.
- FEMA expects tornado in St. Louis County to cost $38 per $1 million of buildings a year: 0.19 times the U.S. median and 0.20 times the MN county median, ranked 2,518th of 3,144 counties nationally and 81st of 87 in Minnesota.
- Applying FEMA's estimate to a $208,500 home, the average yearly loss in St. Louis County is about $3.93 for hail and $0.10 for wind before any deductible; at the U.S. median county rates it would be $4.66 and $4.25.
- If the next years look like 2014 to 2025, a roof kept 20 years in St. Louis County meets about 75.0 hail days of 1 inch or more; the median county in NOAA's file (1,275 counties) would give 35.0.
- Built in 1962, the median home in St. Louis County is 64 years old, so an original roof has outlived a 3-tab shingle (15 to 20 years) and an architectural one (25 to 30 years); 85.6% of its 103,924 homes are at least 26 years old.
- March to June holds 113 of the 239 hail reports in St. Louis County (47 percent); the quietest month is January, with 0 reports.
What hail and wind cost a home here in an average year
Enter a home value. The calculator applies St. Louis County’s own loss rate: the county’s expected yearly loss divided by the value of its buildings. It starts at the Census median home value for the county.
Formula: home value × St. Louis County yearly loss ÷ building value. Hail: $1,101,593 ÷ $58,382,738,768 = 0.0000189. Wind: $27,982 ÷ $58,382,738,768 = 0.0000005. This is FEMA’s estimate of average damage to buildings and does not account for your deductible. Tornado is left out because FEMA’s tornado loss counts people and other exposure, not only buildings.
Read this as a yardstick. The rate is an average over every building in the county, from sheds to office towers, and over many years. Real losses come in rare, large storms; a roof with no damage in 19 years can need full replacement in the 20th. The figure is not a quote and not a prediction for one address.
St. Louis County in plain numbers
- St. Louis County scores 91.57 in FEMA's overall hazard index (Relatively Moderate): 266th of 3,144 rated counties and 3rd of 87 in Minnesota.
- Hail scores 84.03 (Relatively Moderate). FEMA expects $1,101,593 of hail damage to buildings in St. Louis County a year, which is $19 per $1 million of buildings, 0.84 times the U.S. median.
- Strong wind scores 71.34 (Relatively Moderate) with $27,982 of expected yearly building loss in St. Louis County: $0.48 per $1 million of buildings, 0.02 times the U.S. median.
- Tornado scores 64.73 (Relatively Low) and FEMA's expected yearly tornado loss is $2,229,793, counting everything exposed, or $38 per $1 million of buildings in St. Louis County.
- FEMA's own event record for St. Louis County averages 0.93 hail events and 0.71 strong-wind events a year.
- NOAA logged 239 hail reports in St. Louis County between 2014 and June 2026, on 48 days with stones of 1 inch or more; the largest was 3 inches.
- In St. Louis County, FEMA counts buildings worth 58.38 billion dollars and 200,067 residents.
- Social vulnerability is Relatively Low in St. Louis County.
- Community resilience there is Very High, for 200,067 residents.
- 1 city in St. Louis County is covered on this site: Duluth. 42 Census ZIP areas have more than half of their land in the county.
- Our guide range for a 2,000 sq ft asphalt roof in Duluth is $6,720 to $14,880.
- St. Louis County ranks 110 of the 194 counties with a page here for hail loss per $1 million of buildings, 192 for wind and 181 for tornado.
- In St. Louis County, June is the busiest month with 78 of the 239 reports (33 percent), against 0 reports in December.
- St. Louis County's worst year was 2022, with 9 hail days at 1 inch or more and 31 reports. At the 2014 to 2025 pace that is 3.75 such days a year, one about every 3.2 months.
- The median home in St. Louis County was built in 1962; 70.6% of its 103,924 housing units date from before 1980, 85.6% from before 2000 and 5.3% from 2010 on.
- Census puts the median home value in St. Louis County at $208,500, and 72.0% of homes are lived in by their owners.
- 3,514 single-family building permits were issued in St. Louis County from 2014 to 2025, about 33.8 per 1,000 homes, peaking in 2016.
- NOAA lists 9 tornado tracks in St. Louis County since 2014; the strongest was an EF1 on June 19, 2016 near Casco, 7.23 miles long.
- The fastest gust in NOAA's records for St. Louis County is 107 mph on September 5, 2023 at Polo.
- The nearest county with a page here is Stearns County, 178 miles from the centre of St. Louis County; its hail score is 96.50.
- Across counties the median is one roofing firm for every 5,189 homes; Census counted 21 roofing contractor establishments in St. Louis County in 2023, one for every 4,949 homes.
- FEMA has named St. Louis County in 6 disaster declarations since 2014, the latest 489 days before its data end, and 0 of them were storm-type.
The hail record of St. Louis County, year by year
NOAA logged 239 reports in St. Louis County; hail of 1 inch or more fell on 48 days. That is 3.8 such days a year; the median county in NOAA’s file has 1.8.
- reports
- days with hail of 1 inch or more
- * 2026 runs to June only
Reports by calendar month, all years together. Peak: June, 78 reports.
The same numbers as a table (years with at least one report)
| Year | Reports | Days, 1 inch or more | Days, 1.75 inch or more | Largest stone | Damage reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1.5 in | – |
| 2015 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 1.5 in | – |
| 2016 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 1.5 in | – |
| 2017 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 2.5 in | – |
| 2018 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 1.75 in | – |
| 2019 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1.25 in | – |
| 2020 | 34 | 8 | 1 | 3 in | – |
| 2021 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 3 in | – |
| 2022 | 31 | 9 | 3 | 2 in | $5,000 |
| 2023 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 2 in | – |
| 2024 | 39 | 2 | 1 | 2.5 in | $5,000 |
| 2025 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1.5 in | – |
| 2026 (to June) | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1.25 in | – |
Biggest hail days in St. Louis County
| Date | Largest stone | Reports that day | Damage reported | Near |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 18, 2020 | 3 in | 8 | none recorded | Shaw |
| September 16, 2021 | 3 in | 8 | none recorded | Saginaw |
| June 12, 2024 | 2.5 in | 33 | $5,000 | Fraser |
| July 17, 2017 | 2.5 in | 5 | none recorded | Parkville |
| July 27, 2023 | 2 in | 13 | none recorded | Clifton |
Where large hail was reported
FEMA scores the county as a whole. NOAA’s reports show where inside St. Louis County the big stones fell.
Reported hail locations, St. Louis County
- 1051 to 1.74 in
- 331.75 to 2.74 in, golf ball to tennis ball
- 22.75 in and up, baseball
Largest plotted stone: 3 in. Bigger dots are bigger stones.
159 reports of 1 inch or larger have coordinates; the map shows the 140 largest. Each dot is a reported location, not a storm path.
Sources: NOAA, Census county outlineWind and tornado records for St. Louis County
Fastest gusts in St. Louis County
| Date | Gust | Near |
|---|---|---|
| September 5, 2023 | 107 mph | Polo |
| July 21, 2016 | 100 mph | Duluth |
| September 5, 2023 | 94 mph | Allen |
| September 5, 2023 | 93 mph | Allen |
Strongest tornado tracks in St. Louis County
| Date | Scale | Length | Injured / killed | Near |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 29, 2026 | EF1 | 1.6 mi | 0 / 0 | Central Lakes |
| September 19, 2024 | EF1 | 5.9 mi | 0 / 0 | Canyon |
| July 17, 2019 | EF1 | 5.73 mi | 0 / 0 | Orr Public Arpt |
| July 17, 2019 | EF1 | 3.43 mi | 0 / 0 | Kabetogama |
9 tornado tracks in all since 2014; the strongest 4 are listed.
How old the roofs are
Census counts homes by the decade they were built. Under each bar is the number of hail days of 1 inch or more that an original roof from that decade has met, at St. Louis County’s 2014 to 2025 pace of 3.75 such days a year. Most roofs have been replaced since; the row shows what a roof that never was would have taken.
Bars: share of 103,924 housing units by decade built. Figures under the decade: hail days met by an original roof, at the county’s 2014 to 2025 pace. The pace of earlier years is unknown.
| Median year built | 1962 |
| Built before 1980 | 70.6% |
| Built before 2000 | 85.6% |
| Built since 2010 | 5.3% |
| Owner-occupied | 72.0% |
| Median home value | $208,500 |
| Single-family permits, 2014 to 2025 | 3,514 |
| Permits per 1,000 homes | 33.8 |
Asphalt shingles are rated 15 to 20 years (3-tab) and 25 to 30 years (architectural). Source: Census ACS 2019 to 2023 and Building Permits Survey.
Roofers and past disasters in St. Louis County
Roofing firms in St. Louis County
| Roofing contractor establishments, 2023 | 21 |
| Change since 2016 | +10 (+91%) |
| Homes per roofing firm | 4,949 |
| Median across counties | 5,189 |
| Employees, 2023 | 84 |
Source for St. Louis County: Census County Business Patterns, NAICS 238160. Full roofing-market page for St. Louis County.
FEMA disaster declarations naming St. Louis County since 2014
| Declarations naming St. Louis County | 6 |
| Storm / flood / winter / fire | 0 / 5 / 0 / 1 |
| Median MN county | 3 |
| Rank among 54 MN counties | 3 |
| Days from the latest to the data cutoff | 489 |
Source for St. Louis County: OpenFEMA, data to 2026-09-15.
Nearby counties
The closest counties that have a risk page, by distance between county centres. Loss is per $1 million of buildings; the columns marked "times here" divide the neighbour's loss by St. Louis County's.
| County | Miles | Overall | Hail loss | Hail, times here | Wind loss | Wind, times here | NOAA hail reports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stearns County, MN | 178 | Relatively Moderate | $44 | 2.36 | $62 | 130.40 | 86 |
| Olmsted County, MN | 251 | Relatively Moderate | $43 | 2.26 | $19 | 40.08 | 109 |
| Blue Earth County, MN | 260 | Relatively Low | $51 | 2.73 | $135 | 281.97 | 68 |
Cities and ZIP areas in St. Louis County
1 city in this county is on PickARoofer. ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are Census shapes that approximate ZIP codes; where we have a city’s ZIPs, the share is the part of each area’s land that lies in this county. 42 such areas have more than half their land here.
| City | ZIP areas (share of land in the county) | Pages |
|---|---|---|
| Duluth | 55802 (100%), 55811 (100%), 55814 (100%), 55803 (100%), 55806 (100%) | Roofers |
- St. Louis County hail history, 2014 to 2026
- Hail history in Minnesota
- Roof Stress Index for St. Louis County
- Insurance claim deadlines in Minnesota
Storm hit your roof in St. Louis County? A free inspection tells you if there is damage. One local roofer answers, not five.
Start an inspection requestQuestions
How high is storm risk in St. Louis County?
FEMA's National Risk Index gives St. Louis County an overall score of 91.57 (Relatively Moderate), 266th of 3,144. Hail scores 84.03 (Relatively Moderate), strong wind 71.34 (Relatively Moderate) and tornado 64.73 (Relatively Low).
In St. Louis County, how many hail reports has NOAA logged?
A report is one entry for one storm in one county, so counts follow where people live as well as where hail fell. NOAA has 239 for St. Louis County between 2014 and June 2026, on 48 days with hail of 1 inch or more; the largest stone was 3 inches.
What do hail and wind cost a home in St. Louis County each year, on average?
Applying FEMA's county rates to its median home value of $208,500: FEMA's estimate is about $3.93 a year for hail and $0.10 for wind, before any deductible, against $4.66 and $4.25 at the U.S. median county rates. This is an average over many years and all buildings, not a prediction for one roof; one bad storm costs far more than the average year.
How does St. Louis County compare with the rest of Minnesota?
Per $1 million of buildings St. Louis County loses $19 to hail a year, against $28 in the median county of the state. Among 87 rated counties it is 16th for hail, 36th for strong wind and 24th for tornado.
How old are the roofs in St. Louis County?
The median home was built in 1962, 64 years ago, and 85.6% of the 103,924 housing units in St. Louis County date from before 2000. Asphalt shingles are rated 15 to 20 years (3-tab) or 25 to 30 years (architectural), so an original roof of either kind is past its rated life. The Census does not record when a roof was replaced.
What does expected annual loss mean?
It is FEMA's estimate of the average yearly loss from a hazard, in dollars, summed over the county. It is built for comparing counties at planning level, not for pricing one house.
Does a high rating mean my roof will be damaged?
No. The index compares counties and cannot say what will happen on your street. After a storm, a roof inspection is the only way to know.
Sources for St. Louis County: FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026; NOAA Storm Events Database hail reports for St. Louis County; Census Bureau ZCTA-to-county relationship file (2020); Census ACS and Building Permits Survey, homes in St. Louis County; Census County Business Patterns, roofing firms in St. Louis County; OpenFEMA, declarations naming St. Louis County. Planning-level information about St. Louis County, not an inspection and not insurance advice.
This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).