Tornadoes · United States · North Dakota

Tornadoes in Barnes County, North Dakota

68 tornadoes have crossed Barnes County since 1950, 3rd of the 53 counties in North Dakota with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.1 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 4. 1 was rated F4 or EF4 and above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

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

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

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

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    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. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

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

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

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

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    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.

Now

Tornadoes
68
Deaths
0
Injuries
4
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, July 18, 2004

The strongest

  1. F4 Marion tornado, North DakotaJuly 18, 2004F4, 12.0 mi (19 km)
  2. F3, LaMoure and Barnes counties, North DakotaMay 20, 1974F3, 17.3 mi (28 km)
  3. EF3, Barnes and Stutsman counties, North DakotaJune 20, 2025EF3, 10.9 mi (18 km)
  4. F3, Barnes and Stutsman counties, North DakotaAugust 23, 1968F3, 8.5 mi (14 km)
  5. F3, Barnes County, North DakotaSeptember 6, 1958F3, 2.9 mi (5 km)
  6. F2, LaMoure, Barnes and Ransom counties, North DakotaAugust 15, 1999F2, 28.5 mi (46 km)
  7. EF2, Barnes County, North DakotaJuly 26, 2010EF2, 13.8 mi (22 km)
  8. F2, Stutsman and Barnes counties, North DakotaAugust 14, 1974F2, 11.3 mi (18 km)
  9. EF2, Barnes County, North DakotaJune 20, 2025EF2, 5.8 mi (9 km)
  10. F2, Barnes County, North DakotaAugust 3, 1955F2, 1.5 mi (2 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 40 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Barnes County. Each year links to every tornado in North Dakota that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20254EF3
20221EF0
20201EF1
20192EF1
20171EF1
20161EF0
20151EF0
20141EF0
20131EF0
20121EF0
20113EF1
20105EF2
20081EF0
20072EF0
20043F4
19994F2
19981F0
19971F0
19941F0
19881F0
19861F0
19841F0
19831F1
19821F1
19791F1
19781F0
19772F1
19762F1
19751F0
19744F3
19711F0
19701F1
196813F3
19673F1
19661F0
196541F2
19643F1
19581F3
19561F1
19551F2

Every tornado that crossed Barnes County

68 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 20, 202512:17 AM CDTEF1Barnes5.0800
June 20, 202510:29 PM CDTEF2Barnes5.8400
June 20, 20259:05 PM CDTEF0Barnes1.120
June 20, 20258:51 PM CDTEF3Barnes10.9990
May 8, 20229:04 PM CDTEF0Barnes0.210
August 9, 20202:17 PM CDTEF1Barnes2.9150
May 24, 20196:11 PM CDTEF0Barnes0.275
May 24, 20195:24 PM CDTEF1Barnes4.1150
September 19, 20174:41 PM CDTEF1Barnes3.7200$30,000
July 26, 20162:40 PM CDTEF0Barnes0.320
June 27, 20155:24 PM CDTEF0Barnes0.125
September 4, 20143:26 AM CDTEF0Barnes1.130
June 20, 20136:11 PM CDTEF0Barnes0.120
June 3, 20127:16 PM CDTEF0Barnes0.220
July 15, 20113:40 AM CDTEF1Barnes3.0100$750,000
May 27, 20115:17 PM CDTEF0Barnes0.520
May 27, 20114:50 PM CDTEF0Barnes4.020
July 26, 201012:30 AM CDTEF2Barnes13.8500$1.0 million
July 13, 20105:38 PM CDTEF0Barnes0.850
June 17, 20104:05 PM CDTEF0Barnes0.215
June 17, 20104:01 PM CDTEF1Barnes1.0100
May 24, 20103:29 PM CDTEF0Barnes0.110
June 14, 20087:32 PM CDTEF0Barnes5.125$30,000
May 18, 20078:50 PM CDTEF0Barnes0.125
May 18, 20077:00 PM CDTEF0Barnes0.125
July 18, 20048:58 PM CDTF0Barnes1.225
July 18, 20048:25 PM CDTF4Marion tornado12.0200$1.7 million
June 11, 20047:14 PM CDTF0Barnes0.625
August 15, 19999:12 PM CDTF0Barnes0.50
August 15, 19998:57 PM CDTF2LaMoure28.5283$1.2 million
August 15, 19998:55 PM CDTF0Barnes0.50
July 25, 199910:31 AM CDTF0Barnes0.50$10,000
June 10, 19988:55 PM CDTF0Barnes0.230
August 31, 199710:30 PM CDTF0Barnes0.523
August 18, 19949:45 PM CDTF0Barnes0.110
July 5, 19888:50 PM CDTF0Barnes0.210$5,000 to $50,000
June 15, 19865:46 PM CDTF0Barnes0.210
May 4, 19843:00 PM CDTF0Barnes0.110
June 21, 19838:30 PM CDTF1Barnes11.060$5,000 to $50,000
July 4, 19826:30 PM CDTF1Barnes0.713$50,000 to $500,000
June 19, 19797:30 PM CDTF1Barnes0.110$50,000 to $500,000
July 3, 19781:30 PM CDTF0Barnes0.110
June 27, 19776:12 PM CDTF0Barnes0.110$5,000 to $50,000
June 15, 197711:10 PM CDTF1Barnes8.310$50,000 to $500,000
June 12, 19761:10 AM CDTF1Barnes0.210$5,000 to $50,000
June 12, 19761:10 AM CDTF1Barnes0.110
July 9, 19751:19 PM CDTF0Barnes0.110
August 25, 19745:00 AM CDTF0Barnes0.110
August 14, 19747:05 PM CDTF2Barnes0.110$50,000 to $500,000
August 14, 19747:00 PM CDTF2Stutsman11.310$50,000 to $500,000
May 20, 19747:40 PM CDTF3LaMoure17.310$50,000 to $500,000
June 21, 19717:00 PM CDTF0Barnes0.120$500 to $5,000
August 29, 19707:00 PM CDTF1Barnes0.220$500 to $5,000
August 23, 19686:45 PM GMT-5F3Barnes8.51003$50,000 to $500,000
July 9, 19674:00 PM GMT-5F0Barnes0.110
July 9, 19673:50 PM GMT-5F1Barnes0.110$5,000 to $50,000
July 9, 19673:27 PM GMT-5F0Barnes0.110
June 15, 196612:30 PM GMT-5F0Barnes0.110
September 4, 19652:00 AM GMT-5F2Barnes0.517$5,000 to $50,000
June 26, 19659:30 PM GMT-5F2Barnes0.1101$5,000 to $50,000
June 25, 19656:25 PM GMT-5F0Barnes0.110
May 5, 19654:00 PM GMT-5F1Barnes0.110$500 to $5,000
August 27, 19644:00 AM GMT-5F1Barnes0.110$500 to $5,000
June 18, 19642:20 PM GMT-5F1Barnes10.710$500 to $5,000
June 11, 19648:30 PM GMT-5F0Barnes2.010$50 to $500
September 6, 19585:30 PM GMT-5F3Barnes2.910$500 to $5,000
September 6, 19564:00 PM GMT-5F1Barnes0.110$500 to $5,000
August 3, 19559:30 PM GMT-5F2Barnes1.510$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Barnes CountyThe forecast for Barnes CountyThe live radar over Barnes CountyEvery county in 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.