Nelson County, North Dakota severe weather history spans 425 recorded events between 1971 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 44.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,152 nationally and #17 in North Dakota.
425
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$17.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Nelson County, North Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Nelson County, North Dakota severe weather history averages 7.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 190 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 42 events fall before 1990 and 383 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is hail, with $10.0M 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 Nelson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 187 | 0 | $10.0M | 3 | 1971–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 139 | 0 | $106K | 83 | 1971–2025 |
| Tornado | 41 | 0 | $603K | F3 | 1976–2022 |
| Flood | 30 | 0 | $4.2M | 0 | 2006–2011 |
| Flash Flood | 15 | 0 | $2.3M | 0 | 2000–2019 |
| Funnel Cloud | 11 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2020 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2006 |
Decade by decade
Nelson 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
44 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 43 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-08-26 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-07-18 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-07-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-06-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-06-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-07-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-08-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-06-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-07-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-06-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
After 10 to 15 inches of rain fell across portions of east central Nelson county, flash flooding occurred. Part of the road shoulder washed out at the US Highway 2 overpass near Petersburg, reducing the traffic to one lane. Several farmsteads were surrounded by water. 45 percent of the cropland in Nelson county was destroyed.
A tornado hit the home of the Nelson county sheriff, who was out of town at the time. The tornado tore the roof off the house and destroyed the barn. A piece of farm machinery was thrown through the bedroom wall and a tractor was hurled 75 yards. The sheriff's squad car was crushed.
Streets, low spots, rivers, and basements were flooded by 4 to 9 inches of rain over a short duration of time. Cars that got stuck in the flood waters were abandoned where they stalled. Farm fields and access roads were also flooded.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
3,016
Population (ACS)
$140K
Median home value
33
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 22, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Jul 5, 2023 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Feb 5, 2023 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Jul 13, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Oct 2, 2020 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 9, 2020 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Nelson County, North Dakota?
425 events are on record between 1971 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $17.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Nelson County?
Hail, with 187 recorded events — 44.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Nelson County?
44 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 43 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Nelson County?
33 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Nelson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Nelson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Nelson County as very low risk, placing it in the 8 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Nelson 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
- Mountrail County 409
- Oliver County 186
- Morton County 805
- Pembina County 468
- Mercer County 318
- Pierce County 185
Cite this page
“Nelson County, North Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-dakota/nelson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.