North Dakota, 1997

Tornadoes and Hail in North Dakota, August 2 to 31, 1997

August 2 to 31, 1997 · NWS BIS · 35 events in 14 counties and zones

18 hail, 8 tornado, 4 thunderstorm wind, 4 lightning, 1 funnel cloud, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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
$11 million
Crop damage
$5.8 million
Events
35

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.

The radar

The Fargo/Grand Forks radar (KMVX), 114 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:25 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

18 hail, 8 tornado, 4 thunderstorm wind, 4 lightning, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Foster

When
August 2, 9:25 PM CST
Where
Foster County, 2 mi SW of Grace City
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
47.530, -98.850

Hail covered ground

Thunderstorm Wind, Williams

When
August 4, 5:55 PM CST
Where
Williams County, Grenora
Measured
60 kt (69 mph)
Coordinates
48.620, -103.930

Numerous tree branches down in town

Funnel Cloud, McLean

When
August 5, 3:37 PM CST
Where
McLean County, 11 mi N of Turtle Lake
Coordinates
47.607, -101.322 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

funnel was visible for about 5 minutes

Tornado, Burleigh

When
August 5, 5:10 PM CST to 5:13 PM CST
Where
Burleigh County, 10 mi N of Bismarck
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
10 yd
Coordinates
46.950, -100.770

weak tornado was visible to weather service staff. Was only visible for a few minutes before dissipating

Tornado, McLean

When
August 5, 5:15 PM CST
Where
McLean County, 5 mi S of Mercer
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
10 yd
Coordinates
47.420, -100.720

brief touchdown by a rope tornado in open county.

Tornado, Kidder

When
August 5, 5:56 PM CST
Where
Kidder County, 5 mi N of Pettibone
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
10 yd
Coordinates
47.180, -99.520

brief touchdown

Hail, Wells

When
August 14, 6:15 PM CST to 6:30 PM CST
Where
Wells County, Heimdal
Measured
1 in hail
Crop damage
$100,000
Coordinates
47.800, -99.620

1 inch hail fell for 15 minutes destroying 12,000 acres of crops.

Hail, Bowman

When
August 19, 1:30 PM MST
Where
Bowman County, Scranton
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
46.150, -103.130

Hail, Grant

When
August 19, 3:35 PM MST to 3:40 PM MST
Where
Grant County, 2 mi W of Elgin
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
46.400, -101.900

hail covered ground

Lightning, Ward

When
August 22, 9:30 AM CST
Where
Ward County, Minot
Property damage
$65,000
Coordinates
48.222, -101.542 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

lightning struck a house in Minot. The fire smoldered until the afternoon when flames began shooting out of the roof. The house was a complete loss.

Hail, Divide

When
August 22, 3:00 PM CST to 4:25 PM CST
Where
Divide County, Fortuna to Noonan
Measured
1.5 in hail
Property damage
$100,000
Crop damage
$5.7 million
Coordinates
48.920, -103.700

late season hail storm moved from Fortuna to Noonan destroying everything in its path. 180 thousand acres of crops were either severely damaged or destroyed.

Lightning, Stark

When
August 24, 9:30 PM CST
Where
Stark County, 3 mi N of Gladstone
Property damage
$3,000
Coordinates
46.811, -102.655 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning struck a hay bale stack causing the stack to start on fire. The fire also spread to the surronding ranch land and burned 40 acres of prairie. 70 haybales were lost.

Hail, Burke

When
August 27, 4:45 PM CST to 4:50 PM CST
Where
Burke County, Columbus to 5 mi of Columbus
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
48.830, -102.770

Thunderstorm Wind, Williams

When
August 27, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Williams County, Williston
Measured
60 kt (69 mph)
Property damage
$5,000
Coordinates
48.150, -103.620

thunderstorm winds caused a tree to fall across a pickup

Hail, Williams

When
August 27, 7:30 PM CST
Where
Williams County, Corinth
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
48.620, -103.320

Lightning, Burke

When
August 29, 4:30 AM CST
Where
Burke County, 15 mi S of Bowbells
Property damage
$5,000
Coordinates
48.791, -102.518 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

lightning struck in a field where 1500 hay bales were stored. Quick reaction by the farmer and fire crews resulted in a loss of only 100 hay bales.

Lightning, Williams

When
August 29, 5:00 AM CST
Where
Williams County, 8 mi S of Tioga
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
48.344, -103.480 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

lightning struck an oil holding tank. The resulting fire spread to another holding tank. Fire crews were able to get the fire put out before the tanks were a complete loss.

Hail, Burleigh

When
August 29, 12:45 PM CST
Where
Burleigh County, Driscoll
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
46.850, -100.130

Thunderstorm Wind, Logan

When
August 29, 2:45 PM CST to 2:55 PM CST
Where
Logan County, Napoleon
Measured
65 kt (75 mph)
Property damage
$10,000
Coordinates
46.500, -99.770

thunderstorm winds blew down a chain link fence around the school. Also numerous trees fell in town with some falling across houses or automobiles.

Hail, Stutsman

When
August 31, 4:05 PM CST to 4:15 PM CST
Where
Stutsman County, Medina
Measured
2 in hail
Property damage
$50,000
Coordinates
46.880, -99.300

property damage estimated

Hail, Stutsman

When
August 31, 4:35 PM CST to 4:45 PM CST
Where
Stutsman County, Windsor
Measured
4.5 in hail
Property damage
$75,000
Coordinates
46.900, -99.030

property damage estimated

Hail, Foster

When
August 31, 4:50 PM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where
Foster County, 3 mi NW of Glenfield
Measured
1.25 in hail
Coordinates
47.480, -98.620

Tornado, Stutsman

When
August 31, 4:50 PM CST
Where
Stutsman County, 2 mi E of Eldridge
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
10 yd
Coordinates
46.900, -98.780

brief touchdown

Hail, Stutsman

When
August 31, 5:20 PM CST to 6:30 PM CST
Where
Stutsman County, Jamestown
Measured
4.5 in hail
Property damage
$10 million
Coordinates
46.900, -98.700

hail fell in Jamestown for 70 minutes, with hail ranging in size from marble to softball. Extensive damage done

Tornado, Stutsman

When
August 31, 5:40 PM CST
Where
Stutsman County, Jamestown
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
10 yd
Coordinates
46.900, -98.700

brief touchdown near the Buffalo mall

Hail, Kidder

When
August 31, 5:51 PM CST to 6:30 PM CST
Where
Kidder County, Steele to Dawson
Measured
4.5 in hail
Property damage
$100,000
Coordinates
46.850, -99.900

hail ranging in size from 1.75 inches to 4.50 inches fell in a swath from Steele to Lake Isabel. Numerous tree and property damage reported.

Tornado, Stutsman

When
August 31, 5:53 PM CST
Where
Stutsman County, 7 mi W of Eldridge
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
10 yd
Coordinates
46.900, -98.980

brief touchdown

Tornado, Stutsman

When
August 31, 6:17 PM CST
Where
Stutsman County, 10 mi S of Jamestown
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
10 yd
Coordinates
46.750, -98.700

brief touchdown

Hail, Burleigh

When
August 31, 6:40 PM CST to 6:42 PM CST
Where
Burleigh County, Driscoll to 2 mi E of Driscoll
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
46.850, -100.080

Hail, Kidder

When
August 31, 6:42 PM CST to 6:56 PM CST
Where
Kidder County, Steele to 7 mi of Steele
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
46.850, -100.050

Hail, Stutsman

When
August 31, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Stutsman County, Buchanan
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
47.070, -98.830

Hail, Kidder

When
August 31, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Kidder County, Tappen
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
46.870, -99.620

Hail, Burleigh

When
August 31, 7:46 PM CST
Where
Burleigh County, 6 mi SE of Bismarck
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
46.730, -100.680

Tornado, Stutsman

When
August 31, 8:15 PM CST to 8:20 PM CST
Where
Stutsman County, 8 mi W of Jamestown
Rating
F1
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
25 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
46.900, -98.870

a tornado picked up 33 empty aluminium coal cars and set them on their side about 5 feet from the track. Each car weighed about 22 tons.

Thunderstorm Wind, Stutsman

When
August 31, 8:30 PM CST
Where
Stutsman County, Streeter
Measured
55 kt (63 mph)
Coordinates
46.650, -99.350

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.
Funnel Cloud
A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
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.
Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in North Dakota in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for North Dakota, 1997Warnings in North Dakota, August 1997

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: 5612329, 5612330, 5612331, 5612332, 5612333, 5612334, 5612335, 5612336, 5612337, 5610869, 5612338, 5610870, 5612339, 5612340, 5612341, 5610868, 5610867, 5612342, 5612343, 5612344, 5612345, 5612346, 5612347, 5612348, 5612349, 5610859, 5612350, 5610860, 5610861, 5610871, 5610862, 5610863, 5610864, 5610865, 5610866.