NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fargo, ND
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Fargo, North Dakota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 112 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 112
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
12 deaths in all
What the records show for Fargo
The strongest of the 112 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on June 20, 1957; its path came within 2 miles, and it killed 10 people. Of the 112, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 50 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 37. The most recent tornado was on June 20, 2025. Fargo has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 89% of the 37 North Dakota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 196 times since 1957, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Fargo has more hail reports within 10 miles than 89% of the 37 North Dakota cities.
Compare Fargo's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Fargo
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s24
- 2000s18
- 1990s9
- 1980s14
- 1970s14(3 EF3+)
- 1960s9
- 1950s16(4 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 20, 1957 | F5 | 2 mi | 52.4 mi | 10 / 103 |
| Jul 2, 1955 | F4 | 25 mi | 9.1 mi | 2 / 19 |
| Jun 28, 1975 | F4 | 5 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 28, 1975 | F3 | 12 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1973 | F3 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 30, 1956 | F3 | 3 mi | 5.1 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jul 2, 1955 | F3 | 24 mi | 18.7 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 4, 2011 | EF2 | 13 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2011 | EF2 | 3 mi | 7.44 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2011 | EF2 | 3 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2011 | EF2 | 14 mi | 4.27 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 5, 2005 | F2 | 11 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 112, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Fargo
The Storm Prediction Center has 196 hail reports within 10 miles of Fargo since 1957, made on 106 separate days. Of these, 122 were 1 inch across or larger, and 15 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on July 5, 1978. The most recent report is from June 16, 2025. July has the most reports, 49.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fargo
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Moorhead, MN, 4 miles northeast of Fargo at 904 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 17°F and 0°F. June is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 26.0 inches over 53 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 10 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 170 nights a year. Snowfall averages 52.7 inches a year, most of it in January. That 26.0 inches is more than at 30 of the 31 North Dakota stations used on this site (97%). West Fargo, 4 miles west, has its own station (Fargo Hector International Airport, ND): 24.1 inches a year, 1.9 less than here, and the same July average high, 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17 | 0 | 0.7 | 3 | 12.2 |
| Feb | 23 | 4 | 0.7 | 2 | 7.7 |
| Mar | 37 | 18 | 1.3 | 4 | 9.3 |
| Apr | 54 | 32 | 1.7 | 4 | 4.0 |
| May | 69 | 45 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 56 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 61 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 59 | 2.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 49 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 55 | 36 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.7 |
| Nov | 38 | 21 | 1.1 | 3 | 8.0 |
| Dec | 23 | 8 | 0.9 | 2 | 10.8 |
| Year | 52 | 32 | 26.0 | 53 | 52.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Moorhead, MN (904 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Fargo
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 249 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fargo: 202 thunderstorm wind reports, 29 flash floods, 13 floods, 3 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $93.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 13, 2017. August has had the most flash floods, 11 of 29. Of the 31 North Dakota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 30 have had fewer than Fargo.
May 28, 2017: thunderstorm wind in Fargo — 2 injured, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “A car was blown off Interstate 29 near Oxbow due to strong winds. The two occupants of the car were injured.”
July 4, 1999: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Fargo — $80.0 million damage.
July 4, 1999: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Fargo — $5.0 million damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Fargo's 4 ZIP codes have filed 2,012 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $18.0 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 789 claims (39% of all) and $8.0 million, then Not a named storm in 1979 with 123 and Winter storm in 2009 with 54. 52% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 20 North Dakota cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 18 have fewer than Fargo.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 789 | $8.0 million |
| Not a named storm1979 | 123 | $580,000 |
| Winter storm2009 | 54 | $216,000 |
| Severe flooding2001 | 37 | $52,000 |
| Midwest Flooding1993 | 26 | $22,000 |
| Late spring storms2013 | 19 | $36,000 |
Cass County, which includes Fargo, has been named in 35 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 30 of them major disasters (by incident: 22 floods, 9 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storm, Tornadoes, and Straight-Line Winds, on September 11, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Cass County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for strong wind; Relatively High for hail; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $81.8 million a year, the highest of 53 North Dakota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $34.2 million (42%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.