290
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$40.4M
Property damage
Hail in Ward County, North Dakota: 290 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 2.75. That places the county #337 nationally and #8 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Hail in Ward County, North Dakota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for hail in Ward County is the 2000s, when 99 of the county's 290 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Ward County archive, hail makes up 49.6% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #337 for this hazard and #8 within North Dakota, putting it in the 89.2 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for hail in Ward County with 93 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 18, 1995 | Minot | 1.5 | 0 | 3 | $40.0M |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 26, 2025 | MINOT | 1.5 | $0 |
| Aug 22, 2024 | SOUTH PRAIRIE | 0.88 | $0 |
| Aug 7, 2024 | DONNYBROOK | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 7, 2024 | COULEE | 1.75 | $0 |
| Jul 31, 2024 | MINOT | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 31, 2024 | MINOT | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 31, 2024 | MAKOTI | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 15, 2024 | MINOT | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 15, 2024 | KENMARE | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 12, 2024 | RYDER | 0.75 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Ward County
- Thunderstorm Wind 186
- Tornado 55
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A severe thunderstorm moved through Ward County in the early morning hours. Hail the size of walnut to grapefruit did extensive damage to crops and property. A camper-bus convention was occuring at the time with extensive damage done to campers ranging in value up to 0.5M. Many wheat crops that were at or near maturity were completely destroyed with no hopes of any harvest.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many hail events are on record in Ward County, North Dakota?
290 hail events are recorded in Ward County between 1957 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest hail recorded in Ward County?
The strongest hail on record in Ward County measured 2.75.
Where does the hail data for Ward County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Hail in Ward County, North Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/north-dakota/ward-county/hail/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.