North Dakota, 1987

Tornadoes and Hail in North Dakota, July 21, 1987

July 21, 1987 · 29 events in 11 counties and zones

12 tornado, 11 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$1.6 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
29

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

12 tornado, 11 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Burleigh

When
July 21, 1:20 PM CST
Where
Burleigh County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
47.300, -100.450

Hail, Sheridan

When
July 21, 1:39 PM CST
Where
Sheridan County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
47.480, -100.270

Hail, Wells

When
July 21, 2:00 PM CST
Where
Wells County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
47.420, -99.320

Tornado, Foster

When
July 21, 2:15 PM CST
Where
Foster County
Rating
F1
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
10 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
47.420, -99.180

Hail, Griggs

When
July 21, 3:20 PM CST
Where
Griggs County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
47.370, -98.120

Hail, Steele

When
July 21, 4:02 PM CST
Where
Steele County
Measured
2 in hail
Coordinates
47.320, -97.730

Hail, Griggs

When
July 21, 4:05 PM CST
Where
Griggs County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
47.450, -98.330

Tornado, Cass

When
July 21, 4:20 PM CST
Where
Cass County
Rating
F1
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
10 yd
Property damage
$25,000
Coordinates
47.180, -97.230

Hail, Traill

When
July 21, 4:30 PM CST
Where
Traill County
Measured
2.75 in hail
Coordinates
47.350, -97.420

Tornado, Traill

When
July 21, 4:45 PM CST
Where
Traill County
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
10 yd
Coordinates
47.350, -97.220

Hail, Steele

When
July 21, 5:15 PM CST
Where
Steele County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
47.330, -97.950

Hail, Barnes

When
July 21, 5:20 PM CST
Where
Barnes County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
47.220, -97.800

Tornado, Benson

When
July 21, 5:47 PM CST
Where
Benson County
Rating
F1
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
10 yd
Property damage
$25,000
Coordinates
47.900, -98.680

Tornado, Cass

When
July 21, 5:50 PM CST
Where
Cass County
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
10 yd
Coordinates
47.080, -96.980

Hail, Steele

When
July 21, 6:05 PM CST
Where
Steele County
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
47.250, -97.730

Thunderstorm Wind, Foster

When
July 21, 6:05 PM CST
Where
Foster County
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates
47.580, -98.600

Tornado, Nelson

When
July 21, 6:30 PM CST
Where
Nelson County
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
10 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
47.680, -97.980

Hail, Traill

When
July 21, 6:30 PM CST
Where
Traill County
Measured
2.5 in hail
Coordinates
47.350, -97.220

Thunderstorm Wind, Steele

When
July 21, 6:30 PM CST
Where
Steele County
Coordinates
47.520, -97.850

Tornado, Griggs

When
July 21, 6:36 PM CST
Where
Griggs County
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
10 yd
Coordinates
47.520, -98.200

Thunderstorm Wind, Cass

When
July 21, 6:39 PM CST
Where
Cass County
Measured
60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates
46.870, -96.780

Tornado, Steele

When
July 21, 6:45 PM CST
Where
Steele County
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
10 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
47.520, -97.850

Tornado, Griggs

When
July 21, 6:45 PM CST
Where
Griggs County
Rating
F3
Path length
1 mi
Path width
100 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
47.630, -98.050

Tornado, Steele

When
July 21, 6:55 PM CST
Where
Steele County
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
10 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
47.580, -97.920

Tornado, Griggs

When
July 21, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Griggs County
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
10 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
47.500, -98.050

Thunderstorm Wind, Traill

When
July 21, 7:15 PM CST
Where
Traill County
Measured
57 kt (66 mph)
Coordinates
47.500, -97.320

Tornado, Wells

When
July 21, 8:15 PM CST
Where
Wells County
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
10 yd
Coordinates
47.650, -99.300

Thunderstorm Wind, Traill

When
July 21, 9:30 PM CST
Where
Traill County
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates
47.650, -97.470

Thunderstorm Wind, Traill

When
July 21, 10:20 PM CST
Where
Traill County
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Coordinates
47.400, -97.070

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.
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 1987Every state in 1987This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for North Dakota, 1987Warnings in North Dakota, July 1987

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: 10085416, 10085417, 10085418, 10085419, 10085420, 10085421, 10085422, 10085423, 10085424, 10085425, 10085426, 10085427, 10085428, 10085429, 10085430, 10085431, 10085432, 10085433, 10085434, 10085435, 10085436, 10085437, 10085438, 10085439, 10085440, 10085441, 10085442, 10085443, 10085444.