Mercer County, North Dakota severe weather history spans 318 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 46.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,678 nationally and #27 in North Dakota.
318
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$9.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Mercer County, North Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Mercer County, North Dakota severe weather history averages 4.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 99 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 43 events fall before 1990 and 275 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $3.9M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Mercer County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 148 | 0 | $846K | 5 | 1966–2024 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 128 | 0 | $3.2M | 113 | 1957–2025 |
| Tornado | 22 | 0 | $1.1M | F3 | 1956–2025 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $3.9M | 0 | 2009–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 4 | 0 | $93K | 0 | 2002–2018 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2011 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2005–2005 |
Decade by decade
Mercer 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
20 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 20 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956-06-18 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 10.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-05-24 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 33.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-06-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-06-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 29.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-07-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-07-12 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-07-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-07-31 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-08-30 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-07-08 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Mercer County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 13, 1976 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| Jun 18, 1956 | 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
Upwards of nine inches of rain in parts of western Mercer County led to very significant overland flooding. There was also flooding along the Knife River, Spring Creek, and their tributaries. Water was added to the Knife River system not only from rain in Mercer County but rain in Dunn County as well. There was significant damage to roads and crops. Officials estimated damage to at least 90 residences. Damage occurred to storm sewer and sanitary sewer systems. A county emergency declaration was issued.
In the Beulah Bay area, two homes had parts of their roofs torn off, large trees were uprooted, manufactured homes were damaged, and multiple campers and boats on trailers were flipped. At Hazen Bay, campers were flipped and trees uprooted. Significant crop damage was also observed throughout this area and surrounding areas, with many fields appearing completely flattened suffering total crop loss.
Spring Creek and the Knife River flooded due to snow melt and ice jams. The Knife, through Beulah, did significant damage to structures. Overland flooding damaged county and township roads. Fifty five homes were flooded. Flooding continued into April.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
8,337
Population (ACS)
$199K
Median home value
24
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 5, 2023 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Feb 5, 2023 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Apr 1, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| May 10, 2011 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 7, 2011 | Flood | FLOODING | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Mercer County, North Dakota?
318 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $9.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Mercer County?
Hail, with 148 recorded events — 46.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Mercer County?
20 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 20 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Mercer County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Mercer County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Mercer County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Mercer County as very low risk, placing it in the 14 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Mercer 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
- McLean County 555
- Morton County 805
- McKenzie County 413
- Mountrail County 409
- McIntosh County 265
- Nelson County 425
Cite this page
“Mercer County, North Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-dakota/mercer-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.