107
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$6.2M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Steele County, North Dakota: 107 recorded events between 1964 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 96. That places the county #2,126 nationally and #25 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Steele County, North Dakota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Steele County is the 2010s, when 38 of the county's 107 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 Steele County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 29.7% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #2,126 for this hazard and #25 within North Dakota, putting it in the 32.5 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Steele County with 38 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.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 3, 1994 | Finley | 0 | 0 | 3 | $500K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 8, 2025 | FINLEY | 61 | $0 |
| Aug 8, 2025 | HOPE | 55 | $0 |
| Jun 21, 2025 | HOPE | 66 | $0 |
| Jun 21, 2025 | LUVERNE | 96 | $0 |
| Jun 21, 2025 | BLABON | 80 | $0 |
| Jun 18, 2024 | HOPE | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 18, 2024 | FINLEY | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 7, 2023 | LUVERNE | 50 | $0 |
| May 23, 2023 | SHERBROOKE | 50 | $0 |
| Jul 23, 2022 | SHERBROOKE | 56 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Steele County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Five wooden double post high voltage power towers were snapped off by downburst winds. The utility company estimated winds around 100 mph. Large hail and damaging winds produced extensive crop damage across portions of Easton and Melrose Townships.
Fully grown trees were uprooted. Some trees fell on power poles and powerlines, causing power outages in Finley. Trees also fell on cars and damage was reported at the grain elevator. On one house porch, the windows were blown out and the screens were torn off. Extensive wind driven hail produced crop damage across portions of Finley Township.
There was a report of quarter size hail, 1.50 inches of rain, and full grown pine trees broken in half. The baseball field scoreboard was blown down and the metal batting cage was blown across two baseball diamonds. Extensive crop damage occurred throughout Hugo Township.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Steele County, North Dakota?
107 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Steele County between 1964 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Steele County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Steele County measured 96.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Steele 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
“Thunderstorm Wind in Steele County, North Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-dakota/steele-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.