Sheridan County, North Dakota severe weather history spans 127 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 50.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,789 nationally and #53 in North Dakota.
127
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$2.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Sheridan County, North Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Sheridan County, North Dakota severe weather history averages 1.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 33 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 24 events fall before 1990 and 103 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $2.0M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Sheridan County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 64 | 0 | $287K | 4 | 1966–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 36 | 0 | $320K | 78 | 1957–2025 |
| Tornado | 19 | 0 | $2.0M | F1 | 1959–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2005–2016 |
| Flash Flood | 1 | 0 | $200K | 0 | 2019–2019 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–1999 |
Decade by decade
Sheridan 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
24 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 19 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-09-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-05-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-07-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2003-07-13 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 29.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1996-07-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-07-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1993-07-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-07-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-09-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1988-06-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Sheridan County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 21, 2007 | Hail | MCCLUSKY | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 13, 2003 | Tornado | PICKARDVILLE | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The tornado crossed the McLean/Sheridan county line and moved east southeast impacting the town of Pickardville. Numerous buildings and grain elevators were damaged in the small community. One young boy was injured after being thrown to the ground and hit by flying debris.
This is the first event entry for one tornado that passed through two counties, Sheridan and McLean. The tornado touched down in an open field southwest of Pickardville and impacted no structures before it ended southeast of Mercer. Shortly after this tornado dissipated, a separate damaging tornado developed west of Mercer. With this tornado, there was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
The tornado touched down in an open field south of Denhoff and impacted no structures. This was considered a satellite tornado which developed and remaining near a much larger damaging tornado that remained to its west. With this tornado, there was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
1,303
Population (ACS)
$110K
Median home value
22
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 11, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM, TORNADOES, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Jul 9, 2020 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 1, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jan 21, 2020 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 12, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Sheridan County, North Dakota?
127 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $2.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Sheridan County?
Hail, with 64 recorded events — 50.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Sheridan County?
24 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 19 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Sheridan County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Sheridan County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Sheridan County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Sheridan County as very low risk, placing it in the 5 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Sheridan 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
- Sargent County 361
- Sioux County 207
- Rolette County 148
- Slope County 167
- Richland County 708
- Stark County 493
Cite this page
“Sheridan County, North Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-dakota/sheridan-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.