Towner County, North Dakota severe weather history spans 281 recorded events between 1964 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 54.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,889 nationally and #35 in North Dakota.
281
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$1.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Towner County, North Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Towner County, North Dakota severe weather history averages 4.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 117 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 36 events fall before 1990 and 245 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $414K 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 Towner County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 154 | 0 | $85K | 3 | 1964–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 68 | 0 | $363K | 85 | 1965–2023 |
| Tornado | 32 | 0 | $162K | F1 | 1965–2025 |
| Flood | 9 | 0 | $414K | 0 | 2006–2017 |
| Flash Flood | 8 | 0 | $20K | 0 | 2000–2016 |
| Funnel Cloud | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2017 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2016–2017 |
Decade by decade
Towner 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
30 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 25 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-07-07 | EF3 | 0 | 3 | 20.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2016-08-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 20.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-05-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2021-08-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-06-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-06-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-08-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 20.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-07-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-05-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-06-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Due to the quick snowmelt, water quickly drained into low areas, damaging around 40 roads and 40 bridges around the county. State Highway 66 had water over the road east of Egeland. Towner County received a Presidential Disaster Declaration for damages caused by spring flooding.
This tornado produced an intermittent damage path of nearly 11 total miles, and ended about one mile north-northeast of Munich in Cavalier County by 428 pm CDT. The tornado only traveled about 5 miles due east in Towner County and mainly damaged crops and power lines. The tornado crossed into Cavalier County around 418 pm CDT at a point about 4 miles north and 6 miles east of Egeland. Peak wind speeds were estimated at 100 mph.
This tornado originated in Rolette County, where it produced EF3 damage near Rolla. It continued into Towner County for about 3 more miles and lifted about 11 miles west-northwest of Rock Lake. It produced mainly EF1 damage to scattered trees and fields in Towner County. Peak winds in Towner County were estimated at 90 mph.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
2,079
Population (ACS)
$135K
Median home value
28
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 5, 2023 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| 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, 2017 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Jul 12, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Towner County, North Dakota?
281 events are on record between 1964 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $1.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Towner County?
Hail, with 154 recorded events — 54.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Towner County?
30 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 25 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Towner County?
28 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Towner County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Towner County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Towner County as very low risk, placing it in the 2 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Towner 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
- Stutsman County 577
- Traill County 407
- Steele County 360
- Walsh County 513
- Stark County 493
- Ward County 585
Cite this page
“Towner County, North Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-dakota/towner-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.