57
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
28
Direct injuries
$1.3M
Property damage
Tornado in Burleigh County, North Dakota: 57 recorded events between 1951 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F4. That places the county #279 nationally and #5 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Burleigh County, North Dakota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Burleigh County is the 2020s, when 12 of the county's 57 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 Burleigh County archive, tornado makes up 8.4% of all recorded severe weather across 10 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #279 for this hazard and #5 within North Dakota, putting it in the 90.5 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for tornado in Burleigh County with 23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952-07-01 | EF4 | 48.0 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1981-07-30 | EF3 | 23.9 mi | 500 yd | Crossed in |
| 1985-05-30 | EF2 | 0.5 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1957-07-16 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1956-06-17 | EF2 | 37.1 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 2025-06-27 | EF1 | 0.3 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 2025-09-14 | EF1 | 2.7 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 2011-07-16 | EF1 | 6.2 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 2005-06-06 | EF1 | 1.0 mi | 60 yd | Touched down here |
| 2000-11-01 | EF1 | 3.0 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2, 1952 | F4 | 1 | 25 | $250K | |
| Nov 1, 2000 | BISMARCK | F1 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Jul 2, 1952 | F4 | 0 | 1 | $250K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 14, 2025 | WING | EFU | $0 |
| Sep 14, 2025 | WILTON | EFU | $0 |
| Sep 14, 2025 | WING | EFU | $0 |
| Sep 14, 2025 | ARENA | EFU | $0 |
| Sep 14, 2025 | BALDWIN | EFU | $0 |
| Sep 14, 2025 | DRISCOLL | EFU | $0 |
| Sep 14, 2025 | HAZELTON | EF1 | $30K |
| Jun 28, 2025 | MENOKEN | EFU | $0 |
| Jun 28, 2025 | FT LINCOLN | EFU | $0 |
| Jun 28, 2025 | BALDWIN | EFU | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Burleigh County
- Hail 324
- Thunderstorm Wind 232
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
This is the first of two tornadoes that occurred to the north of Bismarck. The tornado developed just north of a residence, and slowly moved to the south-southeast. As it moved through the residence lot, the tornado caused significant roof damage to an outbuilding and toppled a covered trailer. In addition, a few softwood and hardwood trees were snapped or uprooted. As the tornado moved south over 110th Avenue Northwest, it snapped several large branches off a large cottonwood tree in the south ditch. The tornado then continued to move south before dissipating. Based on the damage done this tornado was rated EF-1, and from that wind speeds were estimated to be around 95 mph.
Tornado touched down in a sparsely developed area in open country along highway 1804. The tornado skipped in a west..northwest direction. One home was heavily damaged. Several bales of hay were destroyed. The tornado crossed the Missouri River into Morton county.
The tornado touched down east of Menoken, then traveled northwest across Interstate 94 where it struck a farmstead. At this location, the tornado ripped off the roof of an old pole barn and tossed it into nearby trees. The tornado then continued to the northwest where it impacted another property, causing shingle damage to a single-wide mobile home, and some 75 year old trees had either large branches down or were fully uprooted. Based on the damage done this tornado was rated EF-1, and from that wind speeds were estimated to be around 95 mph.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Burleigh County, North Dakota?
57 tornado events are recorded in Burleigh County between 1951 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Burleigh County?
The strongest tornado on record in Burleigh County measured F4.
Where does the tornado data for Burleigh 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 Burleigh County, North Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-dakota/burleigh-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.