NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fort Yates, 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 Fort Yates, North Dakota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 42 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 42
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Fort Yates
The strongest of the 42 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on June 21, 1983; its path came within 23 miles. Of the 42, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 15 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 14. The most recent tornado was on September 14, 2025. Of the 37 North Dakota cities on this site, 59% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Fort Yates. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 31 times since 1986, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 37 North Dakota cities, 89% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Fort Yates.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Fort Yates
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s4
- 2000s7
- 1990s7
- 1980s6(1 EF3+)
- 1970s4
- 1960s7
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 1983 | F3 | 23 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Sep 14, 2025 | EF2 | 17 mi | 6.09 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 1983 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 7, 1969 | F2 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 29, 1953 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 28, 2024 | EF1 | 10 mi | 2.19 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 1999 | F1 | 10 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 1, 1988 | F1 | 20 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 10, 1985 | F1 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 1976 | F1 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 17, 1967 | F1 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 14, 2011 | EF0 | 22 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 42, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Fort Yates
The Storm Prediction Center has 31 hail reports within 10 miles of Fort Yates since 1986, made on 23 separate days. Of these, 19 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on May 11, 1986. The most recent report is from August 28, 2024. June has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fort Yates
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mc Laughlin, SD, 18 miles south of Fort Yates at 2,001 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 58°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 4°F. June is the wettest at 3.3 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.5 inches; the year adds up to 20.2 inches over 43 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 24 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 185 nights a year. Snowfall averages 34.9 inches a year, most of it in December. That 20.2 inches is more than at 16 of the 31 North Dakota stations used on this site (52%).
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 4 | 0.5 | 2 | 7.5 |
| Feb | 28 | 7 | 0.5 | 2 | 6.5 |
| Mar | 42 | 19 | 0.9 | 2 | 3.7 |
| Apr | 56 | 30 | 1.7 | 4 | 2.1 |
| May | 68 | 42 | 3.2 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Jun | 78 | 53 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 58 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 55 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 45 | 1.5 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 57 | 32 | 1.8 | 3 | 0.7 |
| Nov | 41 | 19 | 0.7 | 1 | 4.0 |
| Dec | 29 | 9 | 0.6 | 2 | 10.2 |
| Year | 56 | 31 | 20.2 | 43 | 34.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Mc Laughlin, SD (2,001 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 Fort Yates
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 17 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fort Yates: 16 thunderstorm wind reports and 1 flash flood. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $464,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 125 mph, on June 21, 2023.
June 21, 2023: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Fort Yates — 1 injured, $250,000 damage.
NWS: “Damage survey revealed that a microburst struck this property and completely destroyed a manufactured home which rolled onto a vehicle crushing the roof and partially damaging another vehicle. Parts of the home were blown into a barn, severely damaging it.”
October 11, 1997: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Fort Yates — $150,000 damage.
NWS: “strong thunderstorm winds Cattail Bay,a popular camping area. A mobile home was picked up off of its foundation, lifted over a van, and dropped 40 feet away.”
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
Sioux County, which includes Fort Yates, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 17 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 8 floods, 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 Sioux County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Very Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.4 million a year, the 12th highest of 53 North Dakota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $726,000 (6%), 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.
Cities near Fort Yates
- Mobridge, SD43 mi
- Mandan, ND53 mi
- Bismarck, ND53 mi
- Eagle Butte, SD82 mi
- Ipswich, SD93 mi
- Beulah, ND94 mi
- Hazen, ND95 mi
- Jamestown, ND111 mi
- Dickinson, ND114 mi
- Aberdeen, SD115 mi
- Pierre, SD115 mi
- Garrison, ND116 mi
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