County Hazards

States › North Dakota

North Dakota

The recorded hazard history of every county in North Dakota: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, and National Flood Insurance Program claims since 1978.

North Dakota has 33,350 weather events in the NCEI Storm Events record since 1950 across 53 counties, led by hail: 48.3 per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally.

NCEI attributes 100 deaths and 699 injuries to those events, with property damage estimated at $5.6B. By events per 100 square miles the leading counties are Grand Forks, Steele and Griggs.

FEMA lists 76 disaster declarations touching the state since 1953, most recently Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes (1 Sep 2026). NFIP policyholders filed 13,307 flood claims since 1978, $259M paid; 4,925 residential policies are in force.

1,019events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026
33,350events since 195048.3 per 100 sq mi (US 56.0)
76disaster declarations since 1953last 1 Sep 2026
13,307NFIP flood claims$259M paid

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. Storm records through 30 Jun 2026; declarations refreshed 29 Sep 2026; claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Compared with the United States

MeasureNorth DakotaUS
Recorded events since 195033,3501,977,440
Events per 100 square miles48.356.0
Events per 10,000 residents430.459.6
Deaths recorded by NCEI10026,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)$5.6B$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents17.28.1
Average paid NFIP claim$24K$43K
Residential flood policies in force4,9253,139,862

Hazard mix

Hail10,026
Wind9,530
Winter6,541
Cold2,598
Tornado1,799
Flood1,221
Other706
Drought677
Lightning109
Heat92
Wildfire36
Fog15
HazardEventsShare of USDeaths
■ Hail10,0262.4%—
■ Wind9,5301.4%7
■ Winter6,5412.3%27
■ Cold2,5984.8%13
■ Tornado1,7992.2%29
■ Flood1,2210.7%16
■ Other7061.5%1
■ Drought6770.8%—
■ Lightning1090.6%2
■ Heat920.2%—
■ Wildfire360.4%2
■ Fog150.1%3

Events by decade

Hail: 25Tornado: 88Wind: 57
Hail: 118Tornado: 145Wind: 149
Hail: 278Tornado: 235Wind: 404
Hail: 788Tornado: 230Wind: 584
Hail: 1339Tornado: 250Flood: 132Wind: 779Winter: 1105Cold: 153Lightning: 35Fog: 1Other: 17
Hail: 3324Tornado: 379Flood: 652Wind: 2218Winter: 1911Heat: 27Cold: 696Drought: 35Wildfire: 26Lightning: 55Other: 170
Hail: 2899Tornado: 300Flood: 340Wind: 2819Winter: 2264Heat: 55Cold: 1118Drought: 45Wildfire: 8Lightning: 18Other: 375
Hail: 1255Tornado: 172Flood: 97Wind: 2520Winter: 1261Heat: 10Cold: 631Drought: 597Wildfire: 2Lightning: 1Fog: 14Other: 144
1701950s4121960s9171970s1,6021980s3,8111990s9,4932000s10,2412010s6,7042020s
Recorded events in North Dakota by decade and hazard group, including events recorded by forecast zone. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningFogOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Counties by events per 100 square miles

CountyEventsLast 12 moPer 100 sq miPer 10k residentsDominantTornadoesHailDeclarationsNFIP claimsNRI risk
Grand Forks County1,3575494.5186.6Wind92392383,114Relatively Low
Steele County6481091.03,580.1Hail44175318Very Low
Griggs County6201387.52,718.1Winter37159235Very Low
Eddy County550487.32,353.4Hail191562423Very Low
Cass County1,4982584.980.3Hail109498353,345Relatively Moderate
Traill County7081282.1884.7Wind3415036128Very Low
Ransom County655775.91,154.2Hail3417036148Very Low
Sargent County6501475.71,697.6Hail26177327Very Low
Nelson County725873.82,373.9Hail411873352Very Low
Richland County1,0261871.5619.6Hail6229637223Very Low
Pembina County7891370.51,166.0Hail4323538610Very Low
Ramsey County8152668.8704.3Wind50221291,103Very Low
Foster County405763.91,203.9Winter151012311Very Low
Benson County8531861.41,468.4Hail4929934420Very Low
Barnes County9111261.1843.1Hail6633135389Relatively Low
Burleigh County8994155.190.9Hail5732922698Relatively Moderate
Stark County7293554.6220.6Wind262231630Very Low
Towner County5521053.82,579.4Hail321562826Very Low
Morton County1,0352853.7307.9Hail5442427216Relatively Low
Oliver County376652.02,007.5Hail10109228Very Low
Adams County5101151.62,353.5Wind14156151Very Low
Mercer County5282950.6634.4Wind221542581Very Low
Cavalier County7401749.72,020.8Hail432312613Very Low
Hettinger County5352147.32,201.6Wind201641989Very Low
McIntosh County4541046.61,806.6Hail21146212Very Low
Bowman County5242245.11,805.0Wind141651310Very Low
Dickey County496943.81,012.9Hail35140326Very Low
Renville County384643.81,694.6Winter25912533Very Low
Golden Valley County4321543.22,440.7Wind11118132Very Low
Walsh County5351641.7511.0Hail5423541782Very Low
Ward County8103140.2117.3Hail57290281,107Relatively Low
Logan County381738.42,023.4Hail18114263Very Low
Rolette County346938.3287.2Winter1670254Relatively Low
Sioux County4181138.21,118.2Wind17113222Relatively Low
Burke County4191538.01,941.6Hail28120223Very Low
McLean County7943937.6810.5Hail482812510Relatively Low
Pierce County382637.5966.4Winter15932310Very Low
Stutsman County7973535.9369.4Wind5725731127Relatively Low
Wells County4531635.71,160.1Hail25122292Very Low
Mountrail County6303534.5657.9Wind31188274Very Low
Kidder County4611834.11,946.0Wind20133260Very Low
Sheridan County3311634.02,610.4Winter1964225Very Low
Billings County3861933.64,041.9Hail81181213Very Low
Emmons County5031233.31,537.8Wind421412682Relatively Low
Williams County6813932.8177.0Wind252312019Relatively Low
Slope County3911932.25,666.7Wind1196100Very Low
Grant County5311132.02,285.8Hail271872713Very Low
Bottineau County5251831.5821.6Hail34182283Very Low
McHenry County5773230.81,099.3Hail422023261Very Low
Divide County3722829.51,700.2Wind13101170Very Low
Dunn County5372426.71,330.9Wind24166180Very Low
LaMoure County275024.0676.3Hail391313314Very Low
McKenzie County6262622.7453.0Hail24225242Very Low

Events are county-recorded plus zone-recorded events whose zone is named for the county. NRI risk is FEMA's National Risk Index overall rating (December 2025).

Counties by flood claims per 100 policies in force

CountyClaims, last 10 yearsPolicies in forceClaims per 100 policiesClaims since 1978Paid
Grand Forks County10130133.63,114$76M
Morton County71444.9216$2.8M
Cass County532,1132.53,345$25M
Barnes County21141.8389$2.7M
Ward County131,0301.31,107$69M
Burleigh County25830.3698$15M

Counties with at least 100 residential policies in force. Claims by year of loss in the ten years to 2026, divided by residential policies in force as of 3 Aug 2026; a rough ratio, since policies in force today differ from those in force when the losses occurred.

Federal disaster declarations by year

195319902026
Declarations touching North Dakota by year declared, 1953 to 2026; each disaster number counted once.
Incident typeDeclarations
Flood33
Severe Storm26
Fire4
Snowstorm4
Biological3
Tornado3
Winter Storm1
Coastal Storm1
Drought1

Most recent declarations (each disaster number once, with the number of counties designated):

DeclaredNumberTypeIncidentTitleCounties
1 Sep 2026DR-4934Major disasterSevere StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes7
22 Oct 2025DR-4895Major disasterSevere StormSevere Storms, Straight-Line Winds, And Tornadoes7
11 Sep 2025DR-4888Major disasterSevere StormSevere Storm, Tornadoes, And Straight-Line Winds19
24 Dec 2024DR-4852Major disasterFireWildfires And Straight-Line Winds2
6 Oct 2024FM-5541Fire management assistanceFireElk Horn Fire1
6 Oct 2024FM-5540Fire management assistanceFireBear Den Fire1
15 Feb 2024DR-4760Major disasterWinter StormSevere Winter Storm And Straight-Line Winds13
5 Jul 2023DR-4717Major disasterFloodFlooding21
5 Feb 2023DR-4686Major disasterSnowstormSevere Winter Storm, Snowstorm, And Straight-Line Winds7
13 Jul 2022DR-4660Major disasterSevere StormSevere Winter Storm And Flooding40
1 Sep 2021DR-4613Major disasterSevere StormSevere Storm, Straight-Line Winds, And Flooding9
2 Oct 2020DR-4565Major disasterSevere StormSevere Storms And Flooding6
9 Jul 2020DR-4553Major disasterFloodFlooding20
1 Apr 2020DR-4509Major disasterBiologicalCovid-19 Pandemic53
13 Mar 2020EM-3512EmergencyBiologicalCovid-190

Flood insurance claims by year

197820022026
NFIP claims in North Dakota by year of loss, 1978 to 2026.

13,307 claims, 10,843 paid, $259M in total; 240 repetitive-loss and 43 severe repetitive-loss properties. ZIP codes in North Dakota with flood claims (117).

Year by year

Each year's events, declarations and claims: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011 · 2010 · 2009 · 2008 · 2007 · 2006 · 2005 · 2004 · 2003 · 2002 · 2001 · 2000 · 1999 · 1998 · 1997 · and earlier years back to 1950

Questions and answers

Which North Dakota counties have the most recorded tornadoes?

Cass (109), Grand Forks (92) and Barnes (66), by NCEI count since 1950. Larger counties record more events; the state table also ranks by events per 100 square miles.

Which North Dakota counties have the most flood insurance claims?

Cass (3,345), Grand Forks (3,114) and Ward (1,107) since 1978, in the OpenFEMA NFIP claims file.

How many federal disaster declarations has North Dakota had?

76 declarations since 1953 (major disaster, emergency and fire management assistance declarations combined), 1 of them in 2026 so far.

How does North Dakota compare with the national rate?

48.3 recorded events per 100 square miles against 56.0 nationally; 17.2 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 8.1.

Provenance

NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 refreshed 29 Sep 2026; OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026); FEMA National Risk Index December 2025; US Census Bureau 2021 population and area. Built 30 Sep 2026. Methodology.