Tornado, McKenzie
- When
- August 21, 5:30 PM CST
- Where
- McKenzie County
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 13 yd
- Coordinates
- 47.930, -103.020
Tornadoes and Hail in North Dakota, August 21, 1985
15 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 4 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 24
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
15 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 4 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, McKenzie
- When
- August 21, 5:50 PM CST
- Where
- McKenzie County
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 47.720, -102.680
Hail, Hettinger
- When
- August 21, 6:05 PM CST
- Where
- Hettinger County
- Measured
- 2.5 in hail
- Coordinates
- 46.530, -102.850
Hail, Dunn
- When
- August 21, 6:30 PM CST
- Where
- Dunn County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 47.350, -102.330
Thunderstorm Wind, Morton
- When
- August 21, 6:52 PM CST
- Where
- Morton County
- Measured
- 61 kt (70 mph)
- Coordinates
- 46.820, -101.830
Hail, Hettinger
- When
- August 21, 7:05 PM CST
- Where
- Hettinger County
- Measured
- 2.5 in hail
- Coordinates
- 46.530, -102.850
Hail, Mercer
- When
- August 21, 7:10 PM CST
- Where
- Mercer County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 47.320, -101.850
Hail, Hettinger
- When
- August 21, 7:16 PM CST
- Where
- Hettinger County
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 46.450, -102.520
Hail, Burke
- When
- August 21, 7:17 PM CST
- Where
- Burke County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 48.570, -102.630
Hail, Burke
- When
- August 21, 7:17 PM CST
- Where
- Burke County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 48.770, -102.570
Thunderstorm Wind, Morton
- When
- August 21, 7:40 PM CST
- Where
- Morton County
- Measured
- 61 kt (70 mph)
- Coordinates
- 46.900, -102.030
Tornado, Mountrail
- When
- August 21, 7:45 PM CST
- Where
- Mountrail County
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 1.3 mi
- Path width
- 100 yd
- Coordinates
- 48.320, -102.530
Hail, Stark
- When
- August 21, 7:51 PM CST
- Where
- Stark County
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 46.880, -102.320
Thunderstorm Wind, Morton
- When
- August 21, 7:52 PM CST
- Where
- Morton County
- Measured
- 61 kt (70 mph)
- Coordinates
- 46.820, -101.830
Hail, Morton
- When
- August 21, 7:58 PM CST
- Where
- Morton County
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 46.820, -101.830
Hail, Morton
- When
- August 21, 8:57 PM CST
- Where
- Morton County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 46.850, -101.420
Tornado, Wells
- When
- August 21, 9:10 PM CST
- Where
- Wells County
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 10 yd
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Coordinates
- 47.370, -99.520
Thunderstorm Wind, Morton
- When
- August 21, 9:14 PM CST
- Where
- Morton County
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 46.830, -100.900
Tornado, McKenzie
- When
- August 21, 9:20 PM CST
- Where
- McKenzie County
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.2 mi
- Path width
- 10 yd
- Coordinates
- 47.920, -102.850
Thunderstorm Wind, Burleigh
- When
- August 21, 9:26 PM CST
- Where
- Burleigh County
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Coordinates
- 46.780, -100.750
Hail, Mountrail
- When
- August 21, 10:05 PM CST
- Where
- Mountrail County
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 47.980, -102.480
Hail, Mountrail
- When
- August 21, 10:40 PM CST
- Where
- Mountrail County
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 48.070, -102.480
Hail, Cass
- When
- August 21, 11:20 PM CST
- Where
- Cass County
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 46.680, -97.030
Hail, Cass
- When
- August 21, 11:20 PM CST
- Where
- Cass County
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 46.930, -97.280
What these are
- 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.
- 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.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
More
Every storm in North Dakota in 1985Every state in 1985This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for North Dakota, 1985
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: 10084222, 10084223, 10084224, 10084225, 10084226, 10084227, 10084228, 10084229, 10084230, 10084231, 10084232, 10084233, 10084234, 10085094, 10085310, 10085311, 10085312, 10085313, 10085314, 10085315, 10085316, 10085317, 10085318, 10085319.