Cavalier County, North Dakota severe weather history spans 427 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 53.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,144 nationally and #16 in North Dakota.
427
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$7.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Cavalier County, North Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Cavalier County, North Dakota severe weather history averages 6.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 177 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 71 events fall before 1990 and 356 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Cavalier County, North Dakota record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $3.0M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Cavalier County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 229 | 0 | $151K | 4.5 | 1955–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 126 | 0 | $3.0M | 96 | 1956–2025 |
| Tornado | 43 | 1 | $2.8M | F2 | 1959–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 11 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2018 |
| Flood | 9 | 0 | $947K | 0 | 2006–2017 |
| Flash Flood | 7 | 0 | $29K | 0 | 1997–2024 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $55K | 0 | 2000–2007 |
Decade by decade
Cavalier County, North Dakota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
42 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 39 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-06-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 18.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1985-06-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-06-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-06-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-06-24 | EF1 | 1 | 1 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-06-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-06-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-06-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-06-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-08-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 20.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Cavalier County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 24, 1966 | Tornado | 1 | 1 | $25K | |
| Sep 10, 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Langdon | 0 | 2 | $10K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Many 100 foot tall evergreen trees were uprooted. A pole barn was blown down and the roof was blown off a mobile home. Many other trees were snapped, with their trunks laying toward the northeast. The grain elevator sustained some minor damage.
This tornado was partially engulfed in downburst winds and hail along its nearly 20 mile path. Large wooden power poles were snapped, roofing was stripped off of homes, steel pole sheds were totally dismantled, numerous steel grain bins were crushed, and large metal segments were carried for a mile or more downwind. Bean and grain fields were completely stripped. Peak winds were estimated at 120 mph.
A weak tornado blew the doors off a seed company elevator and spread door and roof panels around the grounds in a circular pattern. Further downstream, the tornado snapped 6 power poles along 96th avenue northeast, a quarter mile east of highway 1. Peak winds were estimated at 105 mph.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
3,633
Population (ACS)
$126K
Median home value
26
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 13, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 1, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jul 12, 2017 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 12, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 29, 2013 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Cavalier County, North Dakota?
427 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $7.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Cavalier County?
Hail, with 229 recorded events — 53.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Cavalier County?
42 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 39 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Cavalier County?
26 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Cavalier County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Cavalier County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Cavalier County as very low risk, placing it in the 12 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Cavalier County, North Dakota severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Cass County 1,139
- Dickey County 294
- Burleigh County 681
- Divide County 170
- Burke County 214
- Dunn County 309
Cite this page
“Cavalier County, North Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-dakota/cavalier-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.