Kidder County, North Dakota severe weather history spans 255 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 51.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,079 nationally and #39 in North Dakota.
255
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$12.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Kidder County, North Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Kidder County, North Dakota severe weather history averages 3.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 90 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 25 events fall before 1990 and 230 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $6.8M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Kidder County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 130 | 0 | $206K | 4.5 | 1977–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 86 | 0 | $6.8M | 96 | 1957–2025 |
| Tornado | 20 | 0 | $3.3M | F2 | 1960–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 9 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 5 | 0 | $470K | 0 | 2005–2021 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2010–2011 |
| Flood | 2 | 0 | $1.3M | 0 | 2009–2009 |
Decade by decade
Kidder 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
26 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 22 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952-07-01 | EF4 | 1 | 26 | 48.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2001-07-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 30.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-08-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1999-06-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-07-04 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-06-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 37.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-06-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 12.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-08-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-05-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-06-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Kidder County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 12, 1988 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Tornado reported to be 1/2 mile wide at times. The tornado remained in open country before entering into Stutsman county. Damage was contained to metal and double poled high power line towers. A farmstead in the path of the tornado sustained $200,000 in damage. (see Stutsman county report on same tornado.)
The tornado touched down in an oats field to the east-southeast of Steele, with the plants twisted and downed in multiple directions. Approximately one mile east of |Steele the tornado crossed the path of a stopped train and about 40 empty railroad cars were knocked off the tracks. The tracks ran from west to east, with some cars falling north, and some falling south. In addition, near the derailed cars, a grove of hardwood trees suffered damage, with a few trees uprooted. The tornado then lifted one mile northeast of Steele. Based on the damage done this tornado was rated high-end EF-1, and from that wind speeds were estimated to be around 110 mph.
Over four inches of rain was measured over various parts of southwest Kidder County, with radar estimates of over six inches. In the city of Steele, many roads were under water. Over rural portions of the county affected by the heavy rain, multiple gravel road and culvert washouts occurred.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
2,377
Population (ACS)
$157K
Median home value
26
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 22, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Sep 11, 2025 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM, TORNADOES, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Feb 5, 2023 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Jul 13, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 1, 2021 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 9, 2020 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Kidder County, North Dakota?
255 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $12.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Kidder County?
Hail, with 130 recorded events — 51.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Kidder County?
26 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 22 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Kidder County?
26 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Kidder County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Kidder County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Kidder County as very low risk, placing it in the 3 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Kidder 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
- Hettinger County 303
- LaMoure County 275
- Griggs County 319
- Logan County 191
- Grant County 324
- McHenry County 354
Cite this page
“Kidder County, North Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-dakota/kidder-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.