A low-pressure center moved north from South Dakota to North Dakota with a warm front lifting to the north. This resulted in strong low-level wind shear over central North Dakota.
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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 episode as NWS BIS wrote it up.
A low-pressure center moved north from South Dakota to North Dakota with a warm front lifting to the north. This resulted in strong low-level wind shear over central North Dakota. This shear combined with low cloud bases caused by a high amount of moisture in the lower atmosphere to produce multiple low-topped supercells which produced a low amount of lighting. From these supercells, 20 tornadoes developed over central North Dakota which moved in a generally southerly to northerly direction. Two tornadoes produced EF-2 damage. Near Denhoff in Sheridan County, multiple buildings including mobile homes and farm out-buildings were severely damaged along the tornado path, along with damage to many trees and some vehicles. This multi-vortex tornado had a total path length of approximately 13 miles. The second area of EF-2 tornado damage was about 13 miles west of Linton in Emmons County, where a barn was destroyed near Beaver Bay. Two other tornadoes produced EF-1 damage. Near Menoken in Burleigh County, there was damage to trees and the roof of a farm outbuilding. Near Mercer in McLean County, a pole barn was partially destroyed, and a mobile home on wheels was destroyed. Numerous other tornadoes occurred with no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy, those tornadoes were rated EF-U (Unknown). Otherwise, no damaging straight-line winds were reported, and the only large hail reported was one inch in diameter, which occurred near Balfour in McHenry County. In addition, flash flooding occurred over parts of Burleigh and Morton Counties as a result of the heavy rain from the storms. Many vehicles were stranded in Bismarck as multiple roads were underwater, and in Morton County several rural roads had water flowing over.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Bismarck, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 14, 12:10 PM CST, 16 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Bismarck ND 110 PM CDT Sun Sep 14 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Showers and embedded thunderstorms will return to most of western and central North Dakota this afternoon, lasting on and off through Monday. - Isolated to scattered severe thunderstorms are possible across central North Dakota this afternoon and evening, with a tornado or two possible. - Highs mostly in the 70s through Tuesday, then cooling into the 60s by the end of the work week. && .UPDATE... Issued at 110 PM CDT Sun Sep 14 2025 Showers and thunderstorms will start to push into North Dakota from south to north. The threat of severe weather remains, although today's main threat may be a tornado or two given high amounts of low level shear and increasing low level SRH along a warm front. Storm mode today my be messy and these storms may exhibit supercell characteristics although may appear to be more multi cluster in nature. Given this potential rotation perhaps some severe hail and winds are possible, although storm mode made limit this threat as well. A Tornado Watch is now in effect for much of central and portions of eastern North Dakota this afternoon into this evening to account for this potential. UPDATE Issued at 904 AM CDT Sun Sep 14 2025 Main update is to extend the fog mention through the morning hours. Fog has improved in some areas, although remains dense in others. Dense fog reports still remain scattered, and visibility improvement is expected throughout the morning. Thus have issued an SPS for fog across the CWA to account for some potential visibility impacts this morning. Otherwise, showers with some thunderstorms are starting to enter the state from the south. Look for this activity to increase throughout the day across much of the area. UPDATE Issued at 656 AM CDT Sun Sep 14 2025 Observational trends show areas of dense fog across northwest and central North Dakota, but visibility tends to vary greatly over short distances. Where the fog is dense, it has not appeared to remain under a half mile for a long period of time, for the most part. Will continue to handle this with a Special Weather Statement. A few stray showers have developed in northwest North Dakota. Farther south, more widespread showers with isolated thunderstorms are approaching southwest and south central North Dakota. The showers and storms should continue to grow in coverage from south to north throughout the day. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 510 AM CDT Sun Sep 14 2025 Longwave trough axis extends from along the Alberta/Saskatchewan border to Colorado early this morning, placing the Northern Plains under southerly flow aloft. A nearly saturated near-surface layer with light winds has allowed areas of fog to develop across much of western and central North Dakota. The coverage of dense fog reducing visibility under half a mile has not been as prevalent thus far. Would not be surprised to see conditions deteriorate closer to sunrise. A closed upper low at the base of the longwave trough will translate northward today, kicking the trough axis into the Northern and Central High Plains and shortening its wavelength. The strong poleward differential advection of cyclonic vorticity combined with upper level divergence should bring another round of widespread showers and embedded thunderstorms to much of western and central North Dakota later this morning through tonight. The origins of this can already be seen moving up the Missouri River Valley in South Dakota. Through this afternoon, the highest probabilities for rain are along a longitudinal axis that roughly covers areas along and west of the Highway 83 corridor. Directly to the east, modest diurnal heating could yield SBCAPE approaching 2000 J/kg, which may be uncapped or only very weakly capped given the moisture-rich boundary layer with dewpoints forecast in the mid to upper 60s. Most CAMs develop a few clusters of convection along and between the corridors of Highways 83 and 281 by mid afternoon, with quick northward motion. Storm mode could be messy given the strong mid to upper level forcing and lack of a well-defined surface or low level boundary. Any surface based storm would likely have access to effective bulk shear around 30-35 kts, which would be supportive of severe storms. Ingredients for large hail and damaging wind are mostly on the lower end of the severe spectrum. However, there is a potential that the most pertinent hazard from severe storms today could actually be tornadoes. A corridor of strong low level SRH (around 100 m^2/s^2) and shear (around 15-20 kts) is forecast to be collocated with more buoyant air mass with very low LCLs, and forecast hodographs are showing classic long-looping signatures. One potential limiting factor is that both deterministic and ensemble kinematic and thermodynamic two-dimensional fields indicate that favorable conditions for tornadogenesis may be very limited temporally at any given location, translating with the mean atmospheric flow. This limitation also appears in forecast hodographs, as there is only an hour or two of crosswise vorticity at any given site. Therefore, we will message the potential for a tornado or two along with the base severe hazards of quarter size hail and 60 mph winds. Locally excessive rainfall could also be a concern yet again this afternoon through tonight. Precipitable water is projected to remain near or at climatological maximum values, and the HREF localized probability-matched mean QPF shows several pockets of +2 inches. Surface cyclogenesis attendant to the mid/upper low is forecast by tonight, with the system quickly projected to become stacked. Compared to a traditional low, this one is forecast to be essentially sideways, with the warm front pointing due north and the wrap-around deformation band focused in the southwest quadrant. Models still show timing uncertainty with the departure of the low into Canada, generally from around early afternoon to late evening. This keeps high chances for showers but comparatively lower chances for thunderstorms in the forecast on Monday, decreasing from south to north in the afternoon through the evening. Some high-resolution models are also now showing a much stronger surface low entering southwest Manitoba Monday afternoon, with tightly packed isobars on the southern flank across northern North Dakota. This outcome would likely cause windy conditions across the north Monday afternoon, with reasonable worst-case scenario gusts exceeding 50 mph (per the 06Z HRRR). There is still too much uncertainty to include strong winds in the gridded forecast and messaging, but it is something that will need to be monitored with future model runs. Not long after the departure of the low late Monday, another wave deepening over the Northern Rockies will begin sending DCVA into the region on Tuesday, which keeps a 20 to 40 percent chance of rain in the forecast. Guidance then shows another shortwave digging down from Canada on Wednesday. This wave is likely to bring a cooler air mass into the region, which may hold through the end of the week as the wave interacts with the other aforementioned wave and meanders around the Upper Midwest. The NBM maintains a 30 percent chance of rain on Wednesday, followed by only a 20 percent chance Thursday through Saturday. For today through Tuesday, high temperatures are mostly expected to be in the 70s, though parts of southwest and south central North Dakota could stay in the mid to upper 60s should it rain most of the day. Ensembles then show a distinct cool down for the second half of the week, with highs mostly in the 60s Thursday through Saturday. Forecast lows tonight remain closer to summertime values of mid 50s to lower 60s, then gradually cool to around 45 to 50 for the second half of the week. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z MONDAY/... Issued at 110 PM CDT Sun Sep 14 2025 Periods of showers and thunderstorms, along with lingering low level clouds, will bring widespread MVFR to IFR conditions today. Winds will also be light and variable today. A few storms today may be strong to severe. Tonight, showers with a few thunderstorms may linger across much of the area along with some lower clouds. Widespread MVFR conditions are expected, with some IFR conditions possible. These same conditions may then continue into Monday morning. Southerly winds will be found across the eastern half of the state tonight into Monday, with westerly winds in the west. && .BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && UPDATE...Anglin DISCUSSION...Hollan AVIATION...Anglin
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Bismarck ND 1239 PM CDT Sun Sep 14 2025 NDZ003>005-011>013-019>023-025-034>037-042-045>048-050-051-151745- Renville-Bottineau-Rolette-Ward-McHenry-Pierce-Mercer-Oliver- McLean-Sheridan-Wells-Foster-Morton-Burleigh-Kidder-Stutsman- Grant-Sioux-Emmons-Logan-La Moure-McIntosh-Dickey- 1239 PM CDT Sun Sep 14 2025 /1139 AM MDT Sun Sep 14 2025/ This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of north central North Dakota, south central North Dakota, and southeast North Dakota. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight Isolated to scattered severe thunderstorms are possible this afternoon and early evening. Potential hazards include hail up to the size of quarters, damaging winds up to 60 mph, and a tornado or two. Locally excessive rainfall is also possible. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report severe weather and rain amounts to the National Weather Service by calling 1-800-247-0212 or on our social media pages. NDZ001-002-009-010-017-018-031>033-040-041-043-044-151745- Divide-Burke-Williams-Mountrail-McKenzie-Dunn-Golden Valley- Billings-Stark-Slope-Hettinger-Bowman-Adams- 1239 PM CDT Sun Sep 14 2025 /1139 AM MDT Sun Sep 14 2025/ This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of northwest North Dakota and southwest North Dakota. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight Isolated to scattered thunderstorms are possible this afternoon and early evening. The probability for severe weather is low. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report severe weather and rain amounts to the National Weather Service by calling 1-800-247-0212 or on our social media pages.
Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Bismarck ND 845 AM CDT Sun Sep 14 2025 NDZ001>005-009>013-017>023-025-031>037-040>048-050-051-141600- Divide-Burke-Renville-Bottineau-Rolette-Williams-Mountrail-Ward- McHenry-Pierce-McKenzie-Dunn-Mercer-Oliver-McLean-Sheridan-Wells- Foster-Golden Valley-Billings-Stark-Morton-Burleigh-Kidder- Stutsman-Slope-Hettinger-Grant-Bowman-Adams-Sioux-Emmons-Logan- La Moure-McIntosh-Dickey- Including the cities of Crosby, Bowbells, Powers Lake, Lignite, Columbus, Portal, Mohall, Glenburn, Sherwood, Bottineau, Rolla, Dunseith, Rolette, Shell Valley, St. John, Williston, New Town, Stanley, Parshall, Minot, Velva, Towner, Drake, Rugby, Watford City, Killdeer, Halliday, Beulah, Hazen, Center, Garrison, Washburn, Underwood, Wilton, Turtle Lake, Mcclusky, Goodrich, Harvey, Fessenden, Carrington, Beach, Medora, Dickinson, Mandan, Bismarck, Steele, Tappen, Jamestown, Marmarth, Mott, New England, Elgin, Carson, New Leipzig, Bowman, Hettinger, Fort Yates, Selfridge, Solen, Linton, Strasburg, Napoleon, Gackle, Lamoure, Edgeley, Kulm, Wishek, Ashley, Oakes, and Ellendale 845 AM CDT Sun Sep 14 2025 /745 AM MDT Sun Sep 14 2025/ ...AREAS OF DENSE FOG ACROSS WESTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA THIS MORNING... Areas of fog will reduce the visibility to one quarter mile or less across parts of western and central North Dakota this morning. Motorists should be prepared for rapidly changing conditions and use extra caution traveling. Use low beam headlights and be extra cautious at intersections and railroad crossings. The fog is expected to dissipate by late morning.
The Bismarck radar (KBIS), 84 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:25 UTC.
23 tornado, 2 flash flood, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
The tornado touched down in an open field west of Westfield and impacted no structures. There was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
Initial damage near the start of the tornado consisted of crop damage. The tornado then travelled northwest to a farmstead where it dented in the south facing side of a large, mostly empty grain bin. It then proceeded to destroy an 80 by 124 foot pole barn to the north. Inside the barn, farm equipment was damaged including a combine which had the south facing door to barn resting on it. Debris was scattered in all directions and several hundred feet away. Large pieces of board from the destroyed building were embedded in the ground including part of a rafter. There was limited tree damage to the row of trees to the north of this property. The tornado then progressed to the north before dissipating. Based on the damage done this tornado was rated EF-2, and from that wind speeds were estimated to be around 120 mph.
Approximately two to three inches of rain fell in a short period of time, leading to flash flooding. Many rural roads over far eastern Morton County had water flowing over.
The tornado touched down in an open area along the Missouri River northwest of Hazelton and impacted no structures. There was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
Approximately two to three inches of rain fell in a short period of time, leading to flash flooding. The most notable flash flooding occurred in the Bismarck area. Many vehicles were stalled due to floodwaters along State Street south of the North Dakota State Capitol Building, and along Bismarck Expressway. Both the 7th and 9th Street underpasses were flooded. Drainages over various parts of the city were flowing at or above capacity.
The tornado touched down east of Menoken, then traveled northwest across Interstate 94 where it struck a farmstead. At this location, the tornado ripped off the roof of an old pole barn and tossed it into nearby trees. The tornado then continued to the northwest where it impacted another property, causing shingle damage to a single-wide mobile home, and some 75 year old trees had either large branches down or were fully uprooted. Based on the damage done this tornado was rated EF-1, and from that wind speeds were estimated to be around 95 mph.
The tornado touched down in an open field north of Driscoll and impacted no structures. There was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
The tornado touched down in an open field east of Baldwin and impacted no structures. There was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
The tornado touched down in an open field north of Arena and impacted no structures. There was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
The tornado touched down in an open field northwest of Wing and impacted no structures. There was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
The tornado touched down in an open field southeast of Wilton and impacted no structures. There was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
This is the first event entry for one tornado that passed through two counties, Burleigh and Sheridan. The tornado touched down in an open field north of Wing and impacted no structures before it ended south of Denhoff. During the time this tornado was on the ground, another tornado which caused damage developed in Sheridan County south of Denhoff. With this tornado, there was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
This tornado touched down south of Denhoff about three miles north of the Burleigh County line and moved in a northerly direction to the west of Highway 14. When the tornado reached about 6 miles south of Denhoff, it destroyed a 30 by 60 foot pole barn. A nearby barn had two skylights torn off the roof. Another nearby building had some minor damage. At this same property, a double wide mobile home propped up on a basement had the roof completely torn off and blown to the west side of the home. The southeast corner of this mobile home was also missing a wall. A car parked on the property was picked up and set down near the mobile home. Debris was scattered throughout the property and there was substantial tree damage, mostly snapped branches. About a mile south of Denhoff, a single wide mobile home was flipped. There was also debris scattered up to a quarter mile away from this property, along with noticeable tree damage and moved hay bales. The tornado then continued to the west and north of Denhoff. Near a gravel pit to the north of Highway 200, there was more hay bale and tree damage. Several other properties then experience damage from two to five miles north of Denhoff. There was hay bale damage and hay embedded in a road sign's wood post north of Denhoff. Roof panels were missing from a farm outbuilding north of this road sign. Further north, another property had missing skylights on a farm building, damage to a small grain bin, and a children’s wooden play area destroyed. Multiple areas of tree damage were also noted. The tornado was then dissipated about 6 miles north of Dehoff. No deaths or injuries occurred during this event. Based on the damage done this tornado was rated EF-2, and from that wind speeds were estimated to be around 120 mph.
This is the second event entry for one tornado that passed through two counties, Burleigh and Sheridan. The tornado touched down in an open field north of Wing and impacted no structures before it ended south of Denhoff. During the time this tornado was on the ground, another tornado which caused damage developed in Sheridan County south of Denhoff. With this tornado, there was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
The tornado touched down in an open field south of Denhoff and impacted no structures. This was considered a satellite tornado which developed and remaining near a much larger damaging tornado that remained to its west. With this tornado, there was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
This is the first event entry for one tornado that passed through two counties, Sheridan and McLean. The tornado touched down in an open field southwest of Pickardville and impacted no structures before it ended southeast of Mercer. Shortly after this tornado dissipated, a separate damaging tornado developed west of Mercer. With this tornado, there was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
This is the second event entry for one tornado that passed through two counties, Sheridan and McLean. The tornado touched down in an open field southwest of Pickardville and impacted no structures before it ended southeast of Mercer. Shortly after this tornado dissipated, a separate damaging tornado developed west of Mercer. With this tornado, there was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
The tornado touched down about a mile west of Mercer near a farmstead which it then passed through. At this farmstead, the tornado caused extensive tree damage to the property with many branches and trees snapped, and a large tree uprooted. The tornado then partially destroyed a pole barn by ripping about one-half of the rafters off, and pulling out several large support beams along its southeast side that were buried about five feet deep. Debris was scattered up to one-quarter mile away, with large pieces of wood embedded in the ground along the debris field. From there, the tornado then crossed Highway 200, damaging trees on the north side of the highway. It then proceeded north and destroyed an unanchored and unoccupied mobile home on wheels being stored about six miles north of Mercer. The tornado then lifted about two miles north of the mobile home damage. Based on the damage done this tornado was rated EF-1, and from that wind speeds were estimated to be around 110 mph.
The tornado touched down in an open field southeast of Kief and impacted no structures. There was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
This is the first event entry for one tornado that passed through two counties, McLean and McHenry. The tornado touched down in an open field south of Butte and impacted no structures before it ended just north of the county line north of Butte. There was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
This is the second event entry for one tornado that passed through two counties, McLean and McHenry. The tornado touched down in an open field south of Butte and impacted no structures before it ended just north of the county line north of Butte. There was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
The tornado touched down in an open field west of Balfour and impacted no structures before it lifted northeast of Bergen. There was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
The tornado touched down in an open field west of Karlsruhe and impacted no structures. There was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
The tornado touched down in an open field northwest of Karlsruhe and impacted no structures before it dissipated east of Simcoe. There was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
The tornado touched down in an open field south of Granville and impacted no structures. There was no damage to evaluate. By National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF-U (Unknown).
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Dakota in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for North Dakota, 2025Warnings in North Dakota, September 2025
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: 1294422, 1294423, 1295435, 1294724, 1295434, 1294528, 1294529, 1294531, 1294532, 1294533, 1294728, 1294754, 1294762, 1294756, 1294786, 1295001, 1294916, 1294917, 1294937, 1294939, 1295418, 1295420, 1294949, 1294990, 1294992, 1295000.