66
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$5.2M
Property damage
Tornado in Barnes County, North Dakota: 66 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #190 nationally and #3 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Barnes County, North Dakota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Barnes County is the 2010s, when 16 of the county's 66 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Barnes County archive, tornado makes up 10.9% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #190 for this hazard and #3 within North Dakota, putting it in the 93.6 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for tornado in Barnes County with 25 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-07-18 | EF4 | 12.0 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1974-05-20 | EF3 | 17.3 mi | 10 yd | Crossed in |
| 1958-09-06 | EF3 | 2.9 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1950-06-13 | EF3 | 2.0 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 2025-06-20 | EF2 | 5.8 mi | 400 yd | Touched down here |
| 2010-07-26 | EF2 | 13.8 mi | 500 yd | Touched down here |
| 1974-08-14 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1974-08-14 | EF2 | 11.3 mi | 10 yd | Crossed in |
| 1965-09-04 | EF2 | 0.5 mi | 17 yd | Touched down here |
| 1965-06-26 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 27, 1965 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $25K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 2025 | ORISKA | EF1 | $0 |
| Jun 21, 2025 | BEREA | EF2 | $0 |
| Jun 21, 2025 | ECKELSON | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 21, 2025 | URBANA | EF3 | $0 |
| May 9, 2022 | ECKELSON | EF0 | $0 |
| Aug 9, 2020 | CUBA | EF1 | $0 |
| May 24, 2019 | ROGERS | EF0 | $0 |
| May 24, 2019 | LEAL | EF1 | $0 |
| Sep 19, 2017 | LITCHVILLE | EF1 | $30K |
| Jul 26, 2016 | BEREA | EF0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Barnes County
- Hail 331
- Thunderstorm Wind 171
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Several grain bins were lofted for a mile or more and destroyed. Large pine trees were uprooted and numerous trees were stripped of leaves and branches. Equipment storage buildings were unroofed and otherwise flattened to the ground. The tornado tracked continuously for at 14 to 15 miles. There was also widespread wind and hail damage observed in the area.
A tornado was briefly viewed wrapped in heavy rains as it approached the northeast corner of Valley City. The tornado became entirely wrapped in heavy rains and downburst winds as it tracked for about three miles across northern portions of Valley City. Numerous large tree limbs and branches were broken down around town. Peak winds were estimated at 95 mph. The downburst winds affected a much wider path.
The tornado peeled shingles and roofing off of homes at two farmsteads roughly a mile apart, and snapped or uprooted several box-elder and spruce trees at both farmsteads. Branch scatter through a shelterbelt located midway between the farms suggested a possible secondary vortex. Peak winds were estimated at 110 mph.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Barnes County, North Dakota?
66 tornado events are recorded in Barnes County between 1955 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Barnes County?
The strongest tornado on record in Barnes County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Barnes County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Tornado in Barnes County, North Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-dakota/barnes-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.