Tornadoes · United States · North Dakota

Tornadoes in Benson County, North Dakota

52 tornadoes have crossed Benson County since 1950, 2 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 10th of the 53 counties in North Dakota with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.5 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 0. None was rated F4 or 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
52
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, May 30, 1958

The strongest

  1. F3, Benson County, North DakotaMay 30, 1958F3, 10.7 mi (17 km)
  2. EF2, Benson County, North DakotaJune 9, 2017EF2, 8.0 mi (13 km)
  3. F2, Benson County, North DakotaAugust 8, 2001F2, 7.0 mi (11 km)
  4. F2, Benson County, North DakotaMay 20, 1974F2, 3.8 mi (6 km)
  5. EF2, Eddy and Benson counties, North DakotaJuly 4, 2018EF2, 3.1 mi (5 km)
  6. F2, Benson County, North DakotaAugust 8, 2001F2, 2.0 mi (3 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 30 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Benson County. Each year links to every tornado in North Dakota that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20262EF0
20203EF1
20181EF2
20172EF2
20151EF0
20112EF0
20102EF0
20091EF0
20081EF0
20071EF0
20056F1
20031F0
20022F0
20015F2
20002F0
19993F0
19961F0
19931F0
19871F1
19841F1
19791F0
19763F1
19741F2
19661F1
19652F0
19641F0
19631F0
19621F0
19591F0
19581F3

Every tornado that crossed Benson County

52 tornadoes, newest first. The 2 at the top are this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and their ratings are marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 16, 20268:08 PM CDTUnratedBenson0.930
July 16, 20269:04 PM CDTEF0Benson1.8100
July 17, 20203:47 PM CDTEF1Benson0.340$20,000
July 17, 20202:59 PM CDTEF0Benson0.130
May 23, 20206:52 PM CDTEF0Benson0.120
July 4, 20182:29 AM CDTEF2Eddy3.1400$100,000
June 9, 20177:34 PM CDTEF0Benson2.0200
June 9, 20177:08 PM CDTEF2Benson8.0600$200,000
July 11, 201510:24 PM CDTEF0Benson0.125
July 16, 20118:18 PM CDTEF0Benson3.050
July 16, 20117:51 PM CDTEF0Benson3.0100
July 26, 201010:10 PM CDTEF0Benson2.720
June 17, 20104:27 PM CDTEF0Eddy1.215
June 26, 20095:30 PM CDTEF0Benson0.325
June 23, 20088:40 PM CDTEF0Benson0.225
August 10, 20072:18 PM CDTEF0Ramsey1.525
July 10, 20059:55 PM CDTF0Benson2.025
July 10, 20057:20 PM CDTF0Benson0.325
June 23, 20052:58 PM CDTF0Benson2.050
June 19, 20055:18 AM CDTF1Benson0.2100
June 19, 20055:15 AM CDTF1Benson0.2100
June 19, 20054:56 AM CDTF1Benson2.0100
June 27, 20038:10 PM CDTF0Benson0.125
July 31, 20026:30 PM CDTF0Benson0.225
July 31, 20026:00 PM CDTF0Benson0.225
August 8, 20016:18 PM CDTF2Benson2.0250$300,000
August 8, 20016:15 PM CDTF2Benson7.0250$50,000
June 20, 20011:35 PM CDTF0Benson0.525
June 20, 20011:25 PM CDTF0Benson0.525
June 20, 20011:04 PM CDTF0Benson2.025
June 11, 20008:05 PM CDTF0Benson2.0200
June 11, 20007:45 PM CDTF0Benson0.520
June 6, 19992:40 PM CDTF0Benson0.50
June 6, 19992:05 PM CDTF0Benson0.50
June 6, 19992:00 PM CDTF0Benson1.00
August 4, 19964:45 PM CDTF0Benson0.220
July 1, 19933:30 PM CDTF0Benson0.110
July 21, 19876:47 PM CDTF1Benson0.210$5,000 to $50,000
July 30, 19847:15 PM CDTF1Benson0.150$50,000 to $500,000
August 3, 19795:15 PM CDTF0Benson0.110
August 12, 19764:25 PM CDTF1Benson0.110
August 12, 19764:25 PM CDTF1Benson0.110
June 11, 19765:45 PM CDTF0Benson0.110
May 20, 19748:45 PM CDTF2Benson3.810$50,000 to $500,000
June 24, 19665:00 PM GMT-5F1Benson0.110$50 to $500
July 22, 19657:00 PM GMT-5F0Benson0.110
July 22, 19656:00 PM GMT-5F0Benson0.110
July 26, 19646:00 PM GMT-5F0Benson0.110
June 9, 19634:30 PM GMT-5F0Benson0.110
August 10, 19629:30 PM GMT-5F0Benson0.110
May 24, 19598:15 PM GMT-5F0Benson0.110
May 30, 19589:00 PM GMT-5F3Benson10.710$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Benson CountyThe forecast for Benson CountyThe live radar over Benson 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.