McHenry County, North Dakota severe weather history spans 354 recorded events between 1965 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 55.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,463 nationally and #24 in North Dakota.
354
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$9.1M
Property damage
The record
What the McHenry County, North Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, McHenry County, North Dakota severe weather history averages 5.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 94 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 40 events fall before 1990 and 314 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $5.5M 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 McHenry County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 197 | 0 | $341K | 4 | 1975–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 84 | 0 | $2.7M | 87 | 1970–2025 |
| Tornado | 42 | 0 | $363K | F2 | 1965–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 10 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2020 |
| Flood | 9 | 0 | $5.5M | 0 | 2009–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 7 | 0 | $183K | 0 | 2002–2011 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2011 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1996–1996 |
Decade by decade
McHenry 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
38 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 32 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982-06-06 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2007-06-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-06-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1994-07-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-08-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-05-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-05-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-09-14 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 3.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-09-14 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-09-14 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 7.3 mi | Crossed in |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A fertilizer and chemical storage building to the west of Anamoose was destroyed. A one-half mile stretch of power lines were down onto Highway 52. Many trees were severely damaged or toppled within the city of Anamoose, with vehicles and some structures damaged.
Extensive damage occurred to the grain elevator at Voltaire. Two large grain bins were blown completely over with other bins damaged. In addition, the grain leg connecting all the bins from the main terminal was blown off.
Ping pong ball size hail combined with 80 mph wind gusts to cause extensive crop and home damage in the area. The house at this location lost some windows, along with suffering extensive damage to the roof and siding. Vehicles were also damaged.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
5,207
Population (ACS)
$151K
Median home value
32
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 |
| Jul 12, 2017 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 19, 2014 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in McHenry County, North Dakota?
354 events are on record between 1965 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $9.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in McHenry County?
Hail, with 197 recorded events — 55.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed McHenry County?
38 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 32 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover McHenry County?
32 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include McHenry County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is McHenry County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates McHenry County as very low risk, placing it in the 12 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the McHenry 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
- Logan County 191
- McIntosh County 265
- LaMoure County 275
- McKenzie County 413
- Kidder County 255
- McLean County 555
Cite this page
“McHenry County, North Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-dakota/mchenry-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.