Pierce County, North Dakota severe weather history spans 185 recorded events between 1973 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 50.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,532 nationally and #47 in North Dakota.
185
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$4.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Pierce County, North Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Pierce County, North Dakota severe weather history averages 3.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 52 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 30 events fall before 1990 and 155 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $2.8M 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 Pierce County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 93 | 0 | $460K | 3 | 1973–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 65 | 0 | $2.8M | 96 | 1973–2025 |
| Tornado | 15 | 0 | $1.1M | F2 | 1973–2011 |
| Funnel Cloud | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2017 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $296K | 0 | 1999–2009 |
| Flash Flood | 2 | 0 | $35K | 0 | 2005–2024 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $12K | 0 | 1997–1997 |
Decade by decade
Pierce 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
16 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 16 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973-08-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-07-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-06-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-06-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-05-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-07-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-06-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-05-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-07-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-06-11 | 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
Large hail occurred in the city of Rugby, with the largest hail falling near the intersection of US Highway 2 and ND Highway 3 on the south end of town. Damage occurred to structures and automobiles, and south of town to crops.
Five empty anchored down hopper style grain bins were blown over, a trailer rolled through the yard, a gazebo was destroyed, a pool fence was blown down, and tall cottonwood trees were snapped. The farm had an anemometer on site that recorded the strongest wind gust. About one-quarter mile to the west, other trees were uprooted.
A brief tornado touched down five miles south of Rugby on the leading edge of a linear severe thunderstorm. This tornado was within a larger area of straight line thunderstorm winds which also caused damage. Several buildings sustained damage or were destroyed by this tornado, along with trees, and three power poles were snapped along North Dakota Highway 3 where the tornado crossed. A semi truck was picked up along Highway 3 and thrown into the ditch. There were no injuries or deaths reported with this tornado. The tornado damage corresponded to EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. From that it was determined that wind speeds with this tornado were on the order of 100 miles per hour.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
3,928
Population (ACS)
$147K
Median home value
23
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Jul 12, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 10, 2011 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Pierce County, North Dakota?
185 events are on record between 1973 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $4.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Pierce County?
Hail, with 93 recorded events — 50.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Pierce County?
16 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 16 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Pierce County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Pierce County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Pierce County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Pierce County as very low risk, placing it in the 3 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Pierce 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
- Pembina County 468
- Ramsey County 492
- Oliver County 186
- Ransom County 365
- Nelson County 425
- Renville County 175
Cite this page
“Pierce County, North Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-dakota/pierce-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.