Flood and Hail in North Dakota, July 4, 1999

Several trees around town were blown down.

Strong winds hit the West Fargo area, knocking down trees, power lines, and signs. A motel on Main Avenue was damaged as well as numerous roofs. A block of storage sheds were blown apart, with debris damaging vehicles and apartments in the area. 4300 people were without power. At the West Fargo airport, a hanger was demolished, wrecking the Cessna 182 parked inside. A skydiver group who owned the hanger lost most of their equipment inside, some blowing over a half mile away. Some contents of the hanger were found inside a home to the east of the airport. This home had its roof torn off and windows blown in. This allowed some of the debris from the airport hanger to get inside the house. A fireworks tent was flattened, with most of the fireworks inside destroyed because of the rain. 55 power poles were knocked down in the West Fargo area, some snapped at ground level. Several motorhomes at the West Fargo Fairgrounds were overturned, with no injuries reported. A set of bleachers and a press box at the old West Fargo High School were also flattened. On Main Avenue, a 100,000 bushel grain bin was wrecked.

Many trees were downed around Mapleton and there were power outages. Two semi trucks were also overturned.

A barn roof was blown off and several large trees were downed.

A Burlington Northern-Santa Fe trailer train was toppled by the wind.

Thunderstorms producing strong winds hit the Fargo area, causing widespread damage. On the north side of town, Hector Airport had winds in excess of 50 knots for 39 minutes, with a peak speed of 79 knots at 0642 CST. A dozen airplanes at Hector Airport were damaged, some landing upside down. Several hangers were also damaged. The NDSU station just west of campus reported a maximum wind speed of 51 knots. Power was knocked out to the ASOS unit at the airport for 2 days. 35,000 people in Fargo were without power for various times. Apartment buildings were hit particularly hard, with roof damage quite common. This was especially true in the West Acres area on the west side of Fargo. Huge chunks of roofs were blown off, exposing individual apartment units. A 48 unit apartment building under construction was completely blown down. One apartment garage blew off its foundation and into a parked car nearby. At NDSU, the Dairy Research Facility lost parts of its roof and a wall was blown in. Many stop lights, satellite dishes, and advertising signs were twisted or damaged. Several garages were also blown down. A seasonal greenhouse along 13th Avenue southwest was ripped apart. The JCPenney store at West Acres Shopping Center lost a portion of its roof, allowing the rain to damage some contents inside. Skateland, a roller-skating facility, had its roof torn halfway off, exposing its maplewood floor. The rain caused the floor to instantly warp. This business alone estimated damages at $1 million. Several extra large transmission poles just west of West Acres were also toppled. There were reports of some minor cuts to people, but nothing was officially confirmed.

Many underpasses around the Fargo area were flooded. Several cars were stalled in the high water.

A house, in the process of having a new basement poured, was blown off the blocks it was stored on. The Harwood elevator sustained some damage and had several grain bins blown off their foundations and tossed about 100 yards. Trees were also downed around town.

A business along Interstate 29 lost half its roof due to the wind. Plastic tanks they manufacture were blown as far as 3 miles to the east.