North Dakota, 1997

Tornado and Flash Flooding in North Dakota, July 13, 1997

July 13, 1997 · NWS FGF · 21 events in 4 counties and zones

13 hail, 4 flash flood, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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
$12,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
21

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 Minot AFB radar (KMBX), 100 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:21 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 hail, 4 flash flood, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Benson

When
July 13, 4:23 PM CST
Where
Benson County, 3 mi SW of Harlow
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
48.130, -99.570

Hail, Benson

When
July 13, 4:25 PM CST
Where
Benson County, 10 mi N of Maddock
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
48.120, -99.530

Hail, Benson

When
July 13, 4:28 PM CST
Where
Benson County, 3 mi SW of Harlow
Measured
1.25 in hail
Coordinates
48.130, -99.570

Hail, Benson

When
July 13, 4:30 PM CST
Where
Benson County, 10 mi N of Maddock
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
48.120, -99.530

The ground was white with hail.

Hail, Benson

When
July 13, 4:30 PM CST
Where
Benson County, 3 mi SE of Esmond
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
48.000, -99.720

Hail, Ramsey

When
July 13, 4:45 PM CST
Where
Ramsey County, 6 mi W of Devils Lake
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
48.100, -98.980

Hail, Ramsey

When
July 13, 4:45 PM CST
Where
Ramsey County, Devils Lake
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
48.100, -98.850

Hail, Ramsey

When
July 13, 4:56 PM CST
Where
Ramsey County, Devils Lake to 1 mi SW of Devils Lake
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
48.100, -98.870

Hail, Ramsey

When
July 13, 5:02 PM CST
Where
Ramsey County, Devils Lake
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
48.100, -98.850

Hail, Benson

When
July 13, 5:15 PM CST
Where
Benson County, 7 mi S of Leeds
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
48.180, -99.430

Numerous grain fields were shredded.

Flash Flood, Benson

When
July 13, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Benson County, Harlow
Coordinates
48.069, -99.366 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several roads were quickly flooded with water and ditches were full.

Hail, Benson

When
July 13, 6:30 PM CST
Where
Benson County, Warwick
Measured
1 in hail
Coordinates
47.850, -98.680

Tornado, Nelson

When
July 13, 6:34 PM CST
Where
Nelson County, Tolna
Rating
F1
Path length
1 mi
Path width
50 yd
Coordinates
47.830, -98.430

Flash Flood, Benson

When
July 13, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Benson County, 7 mi S of Leeds
Coordinates
48.069, -99.366 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Many roads were under water because of the heavy rain.

Hail, Ramsey

When
July 13, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Ramsey County, Devils Lake
Measured
1.25 in hail
Coordinates
48.100, -98.850

Flash Flood, Benson

When
July 13, 7:15 PM CST
Where
Benson County, Leeds
Coordinates
48.069, -99.366 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rain caused city streets to quickly flood.

Hail, Steele

When
July 13, 7:25 PM CST
Where
Steele County, 3 mi SE of Finley
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
47.480, -97.800

A 4 mile swath of hail damage was reported along with broken windows.

Thunderstorm Wind, Ramsey

When
July 13, 7:30 PM CST
Where
Ramsey County, Edmore
Property damage
$10,000
Coordinates
48.420, -98.450

Many large trees in Edmore were blown down, snapping power lines and damaging one vehicle.

Thunderstorm Wind, Ramsey

When
July 13, 7:30 PM CST
Where
Ramsey County, 1 mi SW of Edmore
Property damage
$2,000
Coordinates
48.400, -98.470

20 large trees were blown over in the strong wind.

Thunderstorm Wind, Ramsey

When
July 13, 7:45 PM CST
Where
Ramsey County, Edmore
Measured
55 kt (63 mph)
Coordinates
48.420, -98.450

Flash Flood, Ramsey

When
July 13, 8:00 PM CST
Where
Ramsey County, 10 mi SW of Edmore
Coordinates
48.269, -98.720 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

3.15 inches of rain caused several roads to wash out.

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
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 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for North Dakota, 1997Warnings in North Dakota, July 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: 5606657, 5606658, 5606659, 5606660, 5606758, 5606759, 5606760, 5606761, 5606762, 5606763, 5606773, 5606770, 5606769, 5606764, 5606768, 5606774, 5606765, 5606771, 5606772, 5606766, 5606767.