Tornadoes · United States · North Dakota

2004 tornadoes in North Dakota

46 tornadoes touched down in North Dakota in 2004, 101 percent above the average of the record for the state. None of them killed anybody. 1 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.

2003 2005 The whole country in 2004

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mph

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Every tornado in North Dakota in 2004

May 19 14 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 194:49 PM CDTF1Pierce1.0600
May 194:50 PM CDTF2Griggs3.0200
May 194:57 PM CDTF0Griggs0.125
May 195:25 PM CDTF1Towner4.0150
May 195:35 PM CDTF0Nelson1.025
May 195:51 PM CDTF0Grand Forks0.525
May 196:18 PM CDTF0Grand Forks0.125
May 196:20 PM CDTF2Pembina0.7150
May 196:39 PM CDTF0Grand Forks0.125
May 196:40 PM CDTF0Pembina0.125
May 196:40 PM CDTF0Pembina0.125
May 196:49 PM CDTF0Walsh0.125
May 196:53 PM CDTF0Pembina0.125
May 197:44 PM CDTF1Cass1.050

May 29 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 295:08 PM CDTF0McIntosh0.020
May 295:14 PM CDTF1McIntosh3.060

June 6 9 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 67:17 PM CDTF1McLean11.050
June 67:34 PM CDTF2Ward8.0150
June 67:58 PM CDTF0Ward0.030
June 68:14 PM CDTF0McLean2.040
June 68:56 PM CDTF0McHenry3.040
June 69:32 PM CDTF0Renville1.040
June 69:50 PM CDTF0Wells0.030
June 611:10 PM CDTF1Eddy0.250
June 612:30 AM CDTF1Towner0.550

June 11 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 117:14 PM CDTF0Barnes0.625

June 23 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 2310:44 AM CDTF1Grand Forks6.050
June 2311:15 AM CDTF1Grand Forks6.550

July 2 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 21:42 PM CDTF0Towner0.525

July 3 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 35:25 PM CDTF1Cavalier0.275$20,000

July 10 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 108:18 AM CDTF0Cass7.025
July 108:42 AM CDTF1Clay to MN2.050

July 15 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 158:01 PM CDTF0Burke1.020

July 18 8 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 187:00 PM CDTF0Grand Forks0.525
July 187:20 PM CDTF1Grand Forks4.050$10,000
July 187:28 PM CDTF2Steele3.0100$250,000
July 187:48 PM CDTF0Traill1.025
July 188:25 PM CDTF4Barnes12.0200$1.7 million
July 188:58 PM CDTF0Barnes1.225
July 189:33 PM CDTF2Cass4.0100$500,000
July 1810:00 PM CDTF0Cass0.525

August 8 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 84:18 PM CDTF0Pembina0.325
August 84:50 PM CDTF0Pembina0.325

August 23 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 237:35 PM CDTF0Morton0.030
August 237:47 PM CDTF0Oliver0.020

August 25 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 259:13 PM CDTF0Ward0.020

Nearby

Every tornado in North Dakota since 1950Warnings in force in North DakotaThe live radar over North Dakota

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.