Tornadoes · United States · North Dakota

Tornadoes in Kidder County, North Dakota

24 tornadoes have crossed Kidder County since 1950, 37th of the 53 counties in North Dakota with a tornado on record, an average of one every 3.2 years. They have killed 1 person and injured 27. 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
24
Deaths
1
Injuries
27
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, July 1, 1952

The deadliest in Kidder County

The strongest

Every year with a tornado

The 20 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Kidder County. Each year links to every tornado in North Dakota that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20252EF1
20241EF1
20211Unrated
20101EF1
20061F0
20031F0
20011F2
19992F2
19971F0
19951F0
19941F0
19931F0
19921F1
198811F1
19851F0
19832F0
19631F1
19602F0
19561F2
19521126F4

Every tornado that crossed Kidder County

24 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 27, 202510:57 PM CDTUnratedKidder1.3100
June 20, 202510:07 PM CDTEF1Kidder12.5200$1.5 million
August 28, 20247:52 PM CDTEF1Kidder0.9300$600,000
May 19, 20214:32 PM CDTUnratedKidder0.350
May 24, 20109:00 PM CDTEF1Kidder2.470$250,000
August 24, 20063:03 PM CDTF0Kidder1.040
June 21, 20036:44 PM CDTF0Kidder0.030
July 17, 20015:15 PM CDTF2Kidder30.0880$1.5 million
June 25, 199910:24 PM CDTF1Burleigh3.030
June 3, 19996:15 PM CDTF2Kidder4.050$400,000
August 5, 19976:56 PM CDTF0Kidder0.110
July 9, 19956:45 PM CDTF0Kidder0.110
July 3, 19942:50 PM CDTF0Kidder0.110
July 1, 19931:53 PM CDTF0Kidder0.110
May 21, 19925:30 PM CDTF1Kidder0.250$5,000 to $50,000
June 12, 198810:20 AM CDTF1Kidder0.5501$50,000 to $500,000
May 10, 19853:16 PM CDTF0Kidder0.110
August 24, 19838:50 PM CDTF0Kidder0.310under $50
June 2, 19839:30 PM CDTF0Kidder0.310under $50
June 22, 19638:30 PM GMT-5F1Kidder0.110$5,000 to $50,000
July 27, 19605:00 PM GMT-5F0Kidder0.110
July 4, 19605:45 PM GMT-5F0Kidder0.110
June 17, 19567:30 PM GMT-5F2Burleigh37.150$50,000 to $500,000
July 1, 19527:00 PM GMT-5F4Burleigh48.0150126$50,000 to $500,000

Nearby

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