Mountrail County, North Dakota severe weather history spans 409 recorded events between 1952 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 46.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,218 nationally and #19 in North Dakota.
409
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$3.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Mountrail County, North Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Mountrail County, North Dakota severe weather history averages 5.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 140 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 67 events fall before 1990 and 342 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 $1.2M 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 Mountrail County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 188 | 0 | $514K | 4.5 | 1964–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 144 | 0 | $1.2M | 83 | 1957–2025 |
| Tornado | 31 | 0 | $923K | F4 | 1952–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 25 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2025 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $816K | 0 | 2009–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 7 | 0 | $215K | 6 | 1998–2013 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 0 | $0 | 5 | 2001–2011 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1996–1996 |
Decade by decade
Mountrail 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
29 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 28 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-07-05 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 28.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-06-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1958-06-30 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-07-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-06-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1985-08-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-06-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-07-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-06-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 13.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-05-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 8.5 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Mountrail County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 30, 1958 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Flooding occurred over Mountrail County. Damage occurred to roads and culverts with many wash outs along township roads. There was crop damage as well. Rain amounts ranged from 2.50 inches in Bottineau County to as much as 7.00 inches in Renville County.
The tornado touched down at a farmstead where multiple campers were parked. One camper was overturned and destroyed, and a small metal grain bin had its roof torn off. The tornado then proceeded into an open field with no other structures impacted. Based on the damage done the tornado was rated EF-1, with winds estimated to be approximately 90 MPH.
Trained weather spotters reported damage from the severe thunderstorm wind gusts. A small metal building was reported blown into a ditch, numerous tree branches were blown down, and one window was reported blown out of a trailer home.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
9,507
Population (ACS)
$233K
Median home value
27
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 5, 2023 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 13, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Oct 2, 2020 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 1, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jan 21, 2020 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Mountrail County, North Dakota?
409 events are on record between 1952 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $3.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Mountrail County?
Hail, with 188 recorded events — 46.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Mountrail County?
29 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 28 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Mountrail County?
27 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Mountrail County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Mountrail County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Mountrail County as very low risk, placing it in the 21 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Mountrail 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
- Morton County 805
- Nelson County 425
- Mercer County 318
- Oliver County 186
- McLean County 555
- Pembina County 468
Cite this page
“Mountrail County, North Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-dakota/mountrail-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.