Tornadoes · United States · North Dakota

Tornadoes in Steele County, North Dakota

45 tornadoes have crossed Steele County since 1950, 13th of the 53 counties in North Dakota with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.7 years. They have killed 0 people and injured 1. 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
45
Deaths
0
Injuries
1
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, June 21, 1971

The strongest

  1. F3, Steele County, North DakotaJune 21, 1971F3, 13.7 mi (22 km)
  2. F2, Griggs and Steele counties, North DakotaJune 21, 1971F2, 12.7 mi (20 km)
  3. EF2, Steele County, North DakotaJune 17, 2010EF2, 7.0 mi (11 km)
  4. EF2, Steele County, North DakotaJune 17, 2010EF2, 3.0 mi (5 km)
  5. F2, Steele County, North DakotaJuly 18, 2004F2, 3.0 mi (5 km)
  6. EF2, Steele County, North DakotaAugust 9, 2021EF2, 2.9 mi (5 km)
  7. F2, Steele County, North DakotaJune 12, 1976F2, 0.1 mi (0 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 27 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Steele County. Each year links to every tornado in North Dakota that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20221EF0
20211EF2
20202EF1
20191EF0
20171EF0
20153EF1
20111EF0
20105EF2
20082EF0
20052F0
20041F2
20022F0
20012F0
19941F0
19884F1
19872F0
19862F1
19841F1
19831F0
19821F0
19801F1
19761F2
197121F3
19661F1
19652F0
19641F0
19581F0

Every tornado that crossed Steele County

45 tornadoes, newest first.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 22, 202212:17 AM CDTEF0Steele0.9150
August 9, 20219:20 PM CDTEF2Steele2.9300$150,000
June 8, 20204:30 PM CDTEF1Steele7.0250$35,000
June 8, 20204:17 PM CDTEF0Steele0.150
May 24, 20196:20 PM CDTEF0Steele4.5150
June 7, 201712:59 PM CDTEF0Steele3.075
June 27, 20156:13 PM CDTEF1Steele3.5300
June 27, 20155:48 PM CDTEF1Steele3.2800
June 27, 20155:18 PM CDTEF0Steele0.125
June 13, 20117:00 PM CDTEF0Steele0.220
June 17, 20105:02 PM CDTEF0Steele3.050
June 17, 20104:40 PM CDTEF2Steele3.075
June 17, 20104:30 PM CDTEF1Steele7.050
June 17, 20104:28 PM CDTEF2Steele7.075
June 17, 20103:38 PM CDTEF0Steele4.330
August 14, 20086:45 PM CDTEF0Steele0.225
July 7, 20085:30 PM CDTEF0Steele0.325$2,000
May 20, 20054:31 PM CDTF0Steele1.050
May 20, 20054:05 PM CDTF0Steele0.225
July 18, 20047:28 PM CDTF2Steele3.0100$250,000
June 25, 20022:00 PM CDTF0Steele0.225
June 25, 20021:35 PM CDTF0Steele0.225
July 18, 20018:00 PM CDTF0Steele0.525
July 18, 20017:00 PM CDTF0Steele0.525
May 3, 19944:10 PM CDTF0Steele0.520$5,000 to $50,000
June 18, 19886:55 PM CDTF0Steele0.213
June 18, 19886:33 PM CDTF1Steele0.573$5,000 to $50,000
June 18, 19886:15 PM CDTF0Steele0.213
June 18, 19886:15 PM CDTF1Steele1.0150$5,000 to $50,000
July 21, 19877:55 PM CDTF0Steele0.210$50,000 to $500,000
July 21, 19877:45 PM CDTF0Steele0.210$50,000 to $500,000
July 10, 19862:40 PM CDTF0Steele0.213
May 11, 198611:30 PM CDTF1Steele0.2100$5,000 to $50,000
July 8, 198412:30 AM CDTF1Steele0.117$5,000 to $50,000
August 25, 198310:45 PM CDTF0Steele0.310under $50
July 4, 19827:34 PM CDTF0Steele0.413under $50
May 28, 19808:46 PM CDTF1Steele26.533
June 12, 19761:15 AM CDTF2Steele0.110$5,000 to $50,000
June 21, 19714:55 PM CDTF2Griggs12.777$5,000 to $50,000
June 21, 19714:55 PM CDTF3Steele13.75001$50,000 to $500,000
July 25, 196611:00 PM GMT-5F1Steele0.110$5,000 to $50,000
July 15, 19657:19 PM GMT-5F0Steele0.110
July 15, 19657:19 PM GMT-5F0Steele0.110
July 26, 196410:30 PM GMT-5F0Steele0.110
July 17, 19586:30 PM GMT-5F0Steele0.110under $50

Nearby

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