Golden Valley County, North Dakota severe weather history spans 225 recorded events between 1952 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 52.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,281 nationally and #41 in North Dakota.
225
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$2.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Golden Valley County, North Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Golden Valley County, North Dakota severe weather history averages 3.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 81 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 40 events fall before 1990 and 185 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is hail, with $1.4M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Golden Valley County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 117 | 0 | $1.4M | 4.5 | 1973–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 81 | 0 | $879K | 86 | 1971–2025 |
| Tornado | 11 | 0 | $35K | F3 | 1952–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2015 |
| Flash Flood | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2002 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $2K | 0 | 2000–2006 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2011 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $140K | 0 | 2023–2023 |
Decade by decade
Golden Valley 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
12 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952-07-19 | EF3 | 1 | 2 | 16.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1952-06-10 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 8.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-07-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-06-30 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 17.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1976-07-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-06-27 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-06-03 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-07-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-06-20 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1996-07-31 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Golden Valley County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 5, 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | BEACH | 0 | 3 | $20K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Two inch diameter hail combined with wind gusts to 75 mph to produce extensive damage in the community of Beach. Multiple vehicles sustained damage including dents and broken windows. House damage included broken windows, dented siding, and damaged shingles.
Significant and severe damage was done from extreme winds on the leading edge of the line of thunderstorms. Twenty-four consecutive wooden power poles were snapped, brand new storage bins were destroyed, trailers and a camper were flipped, and outbuildings were damaged. Nearly 100 hay bales were rolled, most of them destroyed. There was significant crop damage.
Large tree limbs were down in Beach, with some trees broken and uprooted. Light poles were blown over at the fairgrounds, with lines down onto campers. A few miles south of Beach, a pole barn was severely damaged along with a grain bin. Eight power poles were broken outside of Beach, mainly where trees damaged the lines.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
1,653
Population (ACS)
$124K
Median home value
13
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 5, 2023 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| 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 |
| Feb 26, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Nov 21, 2005 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND RECORD AND/OR NEAR RECORD SNOW | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Golden Valley County, North Dakota?
225 events are on record between 1952 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $2.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Golden Valley County?
Hail, with 117 recorded events — 52.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Golden Valley County?
12 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 9 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Golden Valley County?
13 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Golden Valley County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Golden Valley County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Golden Valley County as very low risk, placing it in the 13 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Golden Valley 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
- Foster County 199
- Grand Forks County 1,011
- Emmons County 318
- Grant County 324
- Eddy County 280
- Griggs County 319
Cite this page
“Golden Valley County, North Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-dakota/golden-valley-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.