55
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$2.0M
Property damage
Tornado in Ward County, North Dakota: 55 recorded events between 1954 and 2010. The strongest on record measured F2. That places the county #308 nationally and #7 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Ward County, North Dakota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Ward County is the 1990s, when 18 of the county's 55 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 Ward County archive, tornado makes up 9.4% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #308 for this hazard and #7 within North Dakota, putting it in the 89.4 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for tornado in Ward 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-07-05 | EF4 | 28.0 mi | 100 yd | Crossed in |
| 2010-08-12 | EF3 | 5.0 mi | 400 yd | Crossed in |
| 2004-06-06 | EF2 | 8.0 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1982-06-06 | EF2 | 10.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1974-06-04 | EF2 | 0.3 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1960-08-02 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1954-06-13 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 2002-06-23 | EF1 | 2.0 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 1999-07-13 | EF1 | 9.0 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 1999-07-13 | EF1 | 2.0 mi | 30 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 13, 2010 | NIOBE | EF3 | 1 | 1 | $500K |
| Aug 3, 1960 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $30 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 13, 2010 | NIOBE | EF3 | $500K |
| Jun 12, 2007 | SAWYER | EF0 | $0 |
| Jul 2, 2005 | KENMARE | F0 | $0 |
| Aug 26, 2004 | MINOT | F0 | $0 |
| Jun 7, 2004 | MAKOTI | F0 | $0 |
| Jun 7, 2004 | DOUGLAS | F2 | $0 |
| Jul 10, 2002 | DES LACS | F0 | $0 |
| Jul 19, 2001 | DONNYBROOK | F0 | $0 |
| Jun 11, 2000 | SURREY | F0 | $0 |
| Jun 11, 2000 | (MIB)MINOT AFB | F0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Ward County
- Hail 290
- Thunderstorm Wind 186
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Tornado was produced from the same tornadic thunderstorm that was in north central Mclean County earlier. This was a seperate tornado as the one earlier in Mclean County completely lifted. The tornado remained over rangeland and impacted no structures.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Ward County, North Dakota?
55 tornado events are recorded in Ward County between 1954 and 2010, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Ward County?
The strongest tornado on record in Ward County measured F2.
Where does the tornado data for Ward 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 Ward County, North Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-dakota/ward-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.