North Dakota, 1998

Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in North Dakota, June 10 to 27, 1998

June 10 to 27, 1998 · NWS BIS · 27 events in 16 counties and zones

14 hail, 5 tornado, 3 funnel cloud, 2 flash flood, 1 lightning, 1 heavy rain, 1 high wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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
1
Property damage
$865,000
Crop damage
$6.0 million
Events
27

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 Aberdeen radar (KABR), 57 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:09 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

14 hail, 5 tornado, 3 funnel cloud, 2 flash flood, 1 lightning, 1 heavy rain, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Dickey

When
June 10, 2:10 PM CST
Where
Dickey County, 7 mi ESE of Ellendale
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
45.970, -98.380

Tornado, Logan

When
June 10, 2:15 PM CST
Where
Logan County, 15 mi NE of Napoleon
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
33 yd
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
46.650, -99.550

Tornado remained in rural areas and caused no damage. Ground was white with pea size hail after storm lifted.

Hail, Dickey

When
June 10, 3:30 PM CST
Where
Dickey County, 13 mi N of Ellendale
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
46.180, -98.520

Hail, Dickey

When
June 10, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Dickey County, 4 mi SE of Fullerton
Measured
1.5 in hail
Property damage
$2,000
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
46.130, -98.350

Damage to vehicle.

Hail, Stutsman

When
June 10, 4:00 PM CST
Where
Stutsman County, 9 mi SE of Cleveland
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
46.780, -98.980

Severe damage reported but no estimates or details given.

Hail, Dickey

When
June 10, 7:30 PM CST
Where
Dickey County, 7 mi ESE of Ellendale
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
45.970, -98.380

Hail, Stark

When
June 13, 2:25 PM CST
Where
Stark County, Belfield
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
46.880, -103.200

Funnel Cloud, Morton

When
June 18, 1:00 PM MST
Where
Morton County, 2 mi NW of New Salem
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
46.716, -101.281 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several funnels were reported at the same time in the area with none touching the ground or causing damage.

Tornado, Burleigh

When
June 18, 2:10 PM CST to 2:15 PM CST
Where
Burleigh County, Bismarck to 13 mi NE of Bismarck
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
33 yd
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
46.930, -100.570

The visible funnel came out of a high based thunderstorm which lead to numerous reports of this tornado. Most of received reports on location were in error. Used video and a rancher report to pin down actual location. Numerous funnels were reported in North Dakota this day. The 911 center was overcome by the number of phone calls received about why the outdoor sirens were sounding. The sirens were sounded because the original report of the tornado was just east of Bismarck (this was the location of the observer, not the tornado).

Funnel Cloud, McLean

When
June 18, 5:00 PM CST
Where
McLean County, 2 mi N of Washburn
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
47.607, -101.322 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

County 911 lines were jammed after the warning sirens in Washburn were turned on.

Flash Flood, Sioux

When
June 18, 6:25 PM MST to 10:00 PM MST
Where
Sioux County, 3 mi N of Ft Yates
Property damage
$3,000
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
46.113, -101.040 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Secondary roads washed out 8 miles west of Selfridge. Water overtopped roads at many locations.

Lightning, Adams

When
June 22, 7:00 PM MST
Where
Adams County, Hettinger
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
46.097, -102.528 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Hillcrest Care Center received damage to ovens, paging system, air conditioner control, burglar alarm, and television set.

Heavy Rain, Golden Valley

When
June 23, 3:00 PM MST
Where
Golden Valley County, 10 mi S of Beach
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
46.940, -103.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Report of 5 inches of rain in 2.5 hours caused basement and low land flooding.

Hail, Williams

When
June 23, 5:59 PM CST
Where
Williams County, Bonetraill
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
48.420, -103.850

Tornado, McIntosh

When
June 24, 6:10 PM CST to 6:30 PM CST
Where
McIntosh County, Ashley to 5 mi NNW of Ashley
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
33 yd
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
46.080, -99.430

Nearly stationary, numerous reports from all directions.

Hail, Logan

When
June 24, 6:45 PM CST
Where
Logan County, Gackle
Measured
3 in hail
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
46.630, -99.130

One person was hit on the head while trying to get horses into the barn. Other damage occurred to neon signs, skylights, cars and windows.

Hail, McIntosh

When
June 24, 7:52 PM CST
Where
McIntosh County, 5 mi SE of Ashley
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
45.980, -99.300

Hail, McIntosh

When
June 24, 8:15 PM CST
Where
McIntosh County, 6 mi E of Ashley
Measured
1.75 in hail
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
46.030, -99.230

Hail, McIntosh

When
June 24, 9:05 PM CST
Where
McIntosh County, 16 mi ESE of Ashley
Measured
1.25 in hail
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
45.950, -99.070

Locations is also 12 west of Forbes (Dickey county), person reported ground white with hail.

Hail, Billings

When
June 25, 11:53 PM MST to June 26, 12:03 AM MST
Where
Billings County, Medora
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
46.920, -103.530

Deputy reported ground was white with hail.

Tornado, Dickey

When
June 26, 1:55 PM CST
Where
Dickey County, 3 mi NW of Fullerton
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
33 yd
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
46.200, -98.470

Brief touchdown, no damage. Reported by road crew.

Hail, Dickey

When
June 26, 2:20 PM CST
Where
Dickey County, 6 mi N of Oakes
Measured
1.5 in hail
Property damage
$500,000
Crop damage
$1.0 million
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
46.220, -98.080

Report from insurance adjuster.

Funnel Cloud, Mountrail

When
June 26, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Mountrail County, New Town
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
48.201, -102.356 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Numerous funnels were reported around the area but none touched down. A thunderstorm downdraft did break small branches and blew around garbage cans in New Town.

Hail, La Moure

When
June 26, 3:40 PM CST to 4:10 PM CST
Where
La Moure County, Verona to 11 mi NNW of Verona
Measured
1.25 in hail
Property damage
$200,000
Crop damage
$5.0 million
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
46.370, -98.300

Hailed 30 minutes, total crop loss near intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 27. Hail size and exact time of hail estimated.

Tornado, Burke

When
June 26, 4:30 PM CST
Where
Burke County, 1 mi NE of Portal
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
20 yd
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Coordinates
49.020, -102.530

Flash Flood, La Moure

When
June 26, 6:00 PM CST
Where
La Moure County, 5 mi N of Edgeley
Property damage
$130,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
46.457, -98.535 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Some parts of the county received 6 inches of rain. The hardest hit areas were northeast of LaMoure and west and north of Edgeley. County officials were seeking their seventh presidential disaster declaration in six years (mostly due to water problems).

High Wind, Stark

When
June 27, 3:50 PM MST
Where
Stark forecast zone
Measured
55 kt (63 mph)
Reported by
UNKNOWN
Coordinates
46.811, -102.655 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wind gusts of 30 to 50 mph presisted from late morning until evening with a peak gust of 63 mph (55 knots) recorded at the Dickinson Airport (by ASOS) at 3:50 PM MST. Deep low pressure in southern Saskatchewan was responsible for high winds across eastern Montana and western North Dakota.

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.
Funnel Cloud
A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
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.
Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
Heavy Rain
Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in North Dakota in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for North Dakota, 1998Warnings in North Dakota, June 1998

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: 5645985, 5645987, 5645878, 5645879, 5645984, 5645983, 5645880, 5645989, 5645881, 5645988, 5645882, 5645991, 5645976, 5645883, 5645972, 5646092, 5645973, 5645974, 5645975, 5645977, 5645978, 5645982, 5645990, 5645980, 5645986, 5646093, 5645981.