Slope County, North Dakota severe weather history spans 167 recorded events between 1960 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 57.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,621 nationally and #51 in North Dakota.
167
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$1.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Slope County, North Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Slope County, North Dakota severe weather history averages 2.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 60 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 14 events fall before 1990 and 153 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 $761K 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 Slope County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 96 | 0 | $397K | 4.5 | 1981–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 49 | 0 | $761K | 124 | 1978–2025 |
| Tornado | 11 | 0 | $93K | F1 | 1960–2010 |
| Funnel Cloud | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2015 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2011 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 2011–2011 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2007–2007 |
Decade by decade
Slope 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
13 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 11 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975-06-29 | EF4 | 1 | 4 | 68.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1952-07-19 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 55.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1991-06-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-08-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-05-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 15.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-08-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-07-26 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 5.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-09-09 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-07-03 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-06-20 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Crossed in |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A shop that was under construction was collapsed. Grain bin 1 mile east of Marmarth was damaged along with the roof of a farm outbuilding torn off. A horse trailer was tipped 1 mile northeast of Marmarth. The Sand Creek RAWS site 26 miles northeast of Marmarth measured a 78 mph gust around 1130 PM CDT.
A tornado touched down near a farmstead in rural Slope County. One small outbuilding was damaged and several small trees were blown down. The damage was consistent with EF0 tornado damage on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. From that it was determined that wind speeds were near 85 mph with this tornado.
strong downburst winds developed 20 miles northwest of Amidon on the Logging Creek Ranch where between 300 and 400 Ponderosa Pines were knocked down or tore in half. 4 miles south of the logging camp a rancher had 2 roofs blown off of sheds and his steel wind mill was doubled over in half. A Forest Service wind recorder at the Sand Creek Wildlife refuge 7 NW of Amidon recorded the peak gust at 135 mph. This is the new record non-tornadic wind speed for North Dakota. One the refuge its estimated that another 200-300 pines were stripped, tore in half, or toppled altogether.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
766
Population (ACS)
$170K
Median home value
10
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 1, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Oct 31, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Feb 26, 2010 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Nov 21, 2005 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND RECORD AND/OR NEAR RECORD SNOW | DR |
| Sep 13, 2005 | Coastal Storm | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Amidon 105
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Slope County, North Dakota?
167 events are on record between 1960 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $1.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Slope County?
Hail, with 96 recorded events — 57.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Slope County?
13 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 11 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Slope County?
10 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Slope County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Slope County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Slope County as very low risk, placing it in the 1 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Slope 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
- Sioux County 207
- Stark County 493
- Sheridan County 127
- Steele County 360
- Sargent County 361
- Stutsman County 577
Cite this page
“Slope County, North Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-dakota/slope-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.