Tornadoes · United States · North Dakota

2010 tornadoes in North Dakota

60 tornadoes touched down in North Dakota in 2010, 163 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 1 people and injured 2. 2 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.

2009 2011 The whole country in 2010

The rating scale

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

  1. EF065 to 85 mph

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

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

  3. EF2111 to 135 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. EF3136 to 165 mph

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

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

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

  6. EF5over 200 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 2010

May 24 5 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 242:30 PM CDTEF1Walsh3.050
May 243:29 PM CDTEF0Barnes0.110
May 246:05 PM CDTEF1Grant1.640$25,000
May 248:09 PM CDTEF0Sioux1.435$5,000
May 249:00 PM CDTEF1Kidder2.470$250,000

June 7 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 77:11 PM MDTEF0Bowman1.725$50,000
June 78:12 PM MDTEF0Bowman0.325

June 17 22 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 1710:35 AM MDTEF1Adams0.620$25,000
June 172:31 PM CDTEF0Burke3.525
June 172:55 PM CDTEF0Stutsman2.825
June 173:38 PM CDTEF0Steele4.330
June 173:44 PM CDTEF0Stutsman0.425
June 173:49 PM CDTEF4Mayville–Thompson tornado17.01501
June 174:01 PM CDTEF1Barnes1.0100
June 174:05 PM CDTEF0Barnes0.215
June 174:27 PM CDTEF0Eddy1.215
June 174:28 PM CDTEF2Steele7.075
June 174:30 PM CDTEF1Steele7.050
June 174:31 PM CDTEF2Grand Forks7.0100
June 174:40 PM CDTEF2Steele3.075
June 174:47 PM CDTEF1Grand Forks10.050
June 175:02 PM CDTEF0Steele3.050
June 175:15 PM CDTEF0Nelson3.025
June 175:21 PM CDTEF1Walsh to MN5.050
June 175:22 PM CDTEF0Grand Forks1.025
June 175:30 PM CDTEF0Grand Forks8.030
June 175:35 PM CDTEF1Grand Forks4.075
June 175:37 PM CDTEF0Grand Forks2.025
June 175:41 PM CDTEF1Walsh2.050

June 21 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 212:37 PM CDTEF0Walsh2.475
June 213:55 PM CDTEF0Grand Forks7.0100

June 24 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 244:26 PM CDTEF0Walsh3.030

June 25 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 254:55 PM CDTEF1Morton1.650$200,000
June 255:35 PM CDTEF0Emmons0.520

June 26 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 264:21 PM CDTEF1Walsh6.0200

July 12 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 128:16 PM CDTEF0Mountrail1.430

July 13 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 135:38 PM CDTEF0Barnes0.850
July 136:06 PM CDTEF1Cass11.7250

July 14 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 143:45 AM CDTEF1Ransom7.0250$1.0 million
July 143:59 AM CDTEF2Ransom9.1300$2.0 million

July 26 6 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 265:38 PM MDTEF0Slope5.330
July 266:50 PM CDTEF0Burke0.825
July 268:13 PM CDTEF0McHenry2.830$30,000
July 269:17 PM CDTEF0Cavalier4.940
July 2610:10 PM CDTEF0Benson2.720
July 2612:30 AM CDTEF2Barnes13.8500$1.0 million

July 27 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 276:20 AM CDTEF1Cass2.8150

July 31 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 316:43 PM CDTEF0Pembina7.0100

August 1 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 18:20 PM CDTEF1Towner20.0150
August 18:16 PM MDTEF0Mercer1.640$50,000
August 19:45 PM CDTEF0Rolette5.830

August 2 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 22:36 PM CDTEF0Morton0.220

August 7 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 76:25 PM CDTEF4Tyler–Doran tornado5.0600

August 10 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 101:36 PM CDTEF2Grand Forks0.950

August 12 5 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 128:34 PM CDTEF0Sargent1.925
August 128:40 PM CDTEF0Ransom4.625
August 129:00 PM CDTEF0Burke0.120
August 129:03 PM CDTEF0Burke0.120
August 129:26 PM CDTEF3Burke5.040011$1.2 million

September 9 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 94:00 PM MDTEF0Slope0.840$30,000

Crossed into North Dakota

Tornadoes that touched down in a neighboring state and ran into North Dakota. They are counted under the state they began in.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 76:25 PM CDTEF0Wilkin, MN to ND0.225

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.