Tornado and Hail in North Dakota, July 16, 1978

Name: Tornado and Hail in North Dakota, July 16, 1978
Start: 1978-07-16T18:00
End: 1978-07-16T20:29
Location: North Dakota

July 16, 1978 · NWS NG · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Nelson

When: July 16, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Nelson County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 48.020, -98.030

Thunderstorm Wind, Grant

When: July 16, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Grant County
Coordinates: 46.370, -101.950

Tornado, Dickey

When: July 16, 8:29 PM CST
Where: Dickey County
Rating: F0
Path width: 33 yd
Coordinates: 46.950, -98.580

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in North Dakota in 1978 Every state in 1978 This day in weather history The tornado archive for North Dakota, 1978

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10083905, 10083906, 10083907.