Ramsey County, North Dakota severe weather history spans 492 recorded events between 1960 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 44.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #902 nationally and #13 in North Dakota.
492
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
17
Direct injuries
$24.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Ramsey County, North Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Ramsey County, North Dakota severe weather history averages 7.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 186 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 80 events fall before 1990 and 412 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 $17.6M 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 Ramsey County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 219 | 0 | $10K | 2.75 | 1962–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 176 | 0 | $17.6M | 100 | 1960–2026 |
| Tornado | 50 | 0 | $1.3M | F2 | 1965–2025 |
| Flood | 25 | 0 | $4.8M | 0 | 1998–2011 |
| Flash Flood | 17 | 0 | $301K | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2019 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2006 |
Decade by decade
Ramsey 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
58 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 55 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976-06-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-06-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1971-06-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-08-05 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-08-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2018-07-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-07-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1985-06-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-07-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-06-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Ramsey County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 27, 1986 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 12 | $0 | |
| Aug 12, 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | DEVILS LAKE | 0 | 2 | $10.0M |
| May 13, 1991 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| Aug 5, 1966 | 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
Strong winds hit the city of Devils Lake, toppling power poles, trees, signs, and light signals. Debris from a roof struck and injured a pedestrian. The 96 knot wind gust was measured at the Law Enforcement Center. A 40×60 foot steel building was thrown 150 feet onto a passing vehicle. The motorist inside was not discovered until 12 hours later. It took an additional hour to free the 48 year-old man from the vehicle. A mobile home was also overturned. 250 homes in the city were damaged, leading the governor to declare a state of emergency.
68 consecutive power poles were damaged by the high winds across the Devils Lake area. This amounted to about 8 miles of line. Some of the damaged poles ended up on the bottom of Devils Lake, as the lines cut across several bays.
An old barn was peeled open and sections of its walls and roof were flung to the north. Timbers from the barn penetrated into a home located 80 yards to the north. A Davis wind sensor located just west of the main tornado path registered a 68 mph south wind followed by a rapid shift to a 66 mph west wind. One older power pole located a half mile north-northeast of the farmstead was also cracked. Peak winds were estimated at 105 mph.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
11,556
Population (ACS)
$199K
Median home value
29
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 13, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 1, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jul 12, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 29, 2013 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| May 10, 2011 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Devils Lake 105
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Ramsey County, North Dakota?
492 events are on record between 1960 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $24.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Ramsey County?
Hail, with 219 recorded events — 44.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Ramsey County?
58 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 55 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Ramsey County?
29 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Ramsey County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Ramsey County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Ramsey County as very low risk, placing it in the 18 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Ramsey 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
- Pierce County 185
- Ransom County 365
- Pembina County 468
- Renville County 175
- Oliver County 186
- Richland County 708
Cite this page
“Ramsey County, North Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-dakota/ramsey-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.