Morton County, North Dakota severe weather history spans 805 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 52.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #287 nationally and #3 in North Dakota.
805
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
25
Direct injuries
$143.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Morton County, North Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Morton County, North Dakota severe weather history averages 11.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 305 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 132 events fall before 1990 and 673 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Morton County, North Dakota record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is hail, with $117.1M 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 Morton County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 420 | 0 | $117.1M | 4.5 | 1959–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 294 | 1 | $8.5M | 87 | 1955–2025 |
| Tornado | 54 | 2 | $3.6M | F5 | 1953–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 13 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2016 |
| Flood | 11 | 0 | $11.7M | 0 | 1999–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 9 | 0 | $2.1M | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $43K | 0 | 1998–2014 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2011 |
Decade by decade
Morton 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
58 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 54 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953-05-29 | EF5 | 2 | 20 | 14.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-07-30 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 23.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-05-25 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-06-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-06-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-06-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-11-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 22.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1999-06-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 29.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1998-05-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Morton County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 29, 1953 | Tornado | 2 | 20 | $250K | |
| Jun 26, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | MANDAN | 1 | 0 | $2.0M |
| May 27, 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mandan | 0 | 3 | $50K |
| Sep 1, 2014 | Lightning | NEW SALEM | 0 | 1 | $3K |
| Apr 13, 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | MANDAN | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Thunderstorms with heavy rainfall continuously redeveloped across far eastern Morton County for several hours during the evening of the 15th. Public reports of three to four inches of rainfall were received in the city of Mandan along with street flooding. Some homes had water in their basements. A 30 foot by 40 foot section of roof collapsed at a bowling alley in Mandan. Newspaper reports were that the flat roof failed as a result of the added stress from the weight of the rain water. Two elementary schools in Mandan also had water damage. There were no injuries or deaths.
This Quasi-Linear Convective System (QLCS) tornado occurred to the north-northwest of Sweet Briar Lake. Three farmsteads were impacted. The first farmstead had minimal damage. The second farmstead had two large pole barns lose their roofs, with some collapsed walls. A half-full steel grain bin had its top completely removed, with the bin side dented in to grain level. A large Harvestore silo was significantly dented. A mile of power poles were broken between the second and third farms. The third farm had damage to the house which included much of the shingling being removed and a portion of the roof sheathing being removed, along with windows being broken. In addition, a pole barn had almost all its roof covering blown off with mainly rafters remaining. After the third farm, the tornado then struck a wind turbine, which snapped its support pole 1/4 of the way up, resulting the turbine toppling. Another turbine suffered blade damage. Based on the damage done this tornado was rated EF-2, and from that wind speeds were estimated to be around 120 mph.
A large fertilizer building north of New Salem sustained heavy damage from extreme straight line winds associated with a severe thunderstorm. Visual inspection of the damage conducted during a storm survey indicates estimated winds of 95 mph. Much of the damage was to the roof of the building, in which much of the metal roof was peeled back and blown off to the north. Preliminary damage was estimated at over one million dollars to the building and loss of fertilizer.||Additional damage from severe thunderstorm winds was observed north-northeast of New Salem towards the Morton County and Oliver County border. Several farms had damage to outbuildings, trees, and farm equipment. Damage here was estimated at one quarter of a million dollars.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
33,777
Population (ACS)
$264K
Median home value
27
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 11, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM, TORNADOES, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Jul 5, 2023 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 1, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 12, 2019 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Oct 31, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Mandan 173
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Morton County, North Dakota?
805 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 3 direct deaths and $143.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Morton County?
Hail, with 420 recorded events — 52.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Morton County?
58 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 54 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Morton County?
27 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Morton County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Morton County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Morton County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 50 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Morton 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
- Mercer County 318
- Mountrail County 409
- McLean County 555
- Nelson County 425
- McKenzie County 413
- Oliver County 186
Cite this page
“Morton County, North Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-dakota/morton-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.