NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Grand Forks, 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 Grand Forks, North Dakota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 126 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 126
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Grand Forks
The highest rating among the 126 tornadoes within 25 miles is EF4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 17, 2010, came within 15 miles. The deadliest, an EF4 on August 26, 2007, killed 1 person. Of the 126, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 86 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 53. The most recent tornado was on August 8, 2025. Grand Forks has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 94% of the 37 North Dakota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 179 times since 1960, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Grand Forks has more hail reports within 10 miles than 86% of the 37 North Dakota cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Grand Forks
By decade
- 2020s14
- 2010s38(1 EF3+)
- 2000s34(1 EF3+)
- 1990s13
- 1980s9
- 1970s10
- 1960s1
- 1950s7(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 26, 2007 | EF4 | 24 mi | 5 mi | 1 / 18 |
| Jun 17, 2010 | EF4 | 15 mi | 17 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 11, 1958 | F3 | 6 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jul 11, 2017 | EF2 | 22 mi | 22 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 27, 2015 | EF2 | 18 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 21, 2014 | EF2 | 17 mi | 37.92 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 10, 2010 | EF2 | 17 mi | 0.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 17, 2010 | EF2 | 11 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 26, 2007 | EF2 | 14 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 2005 | F2 | 16 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 2005 | F2 | 9 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 2005 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 126, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Grand Forks
The Storm Prediction Center has 179 hail reports within 10 miles of Grand Forks since 1960, made on 85 separate days. Of these, 90 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 16, 1987. The most recent report is from July 7, 2025. August has the most reports, 52.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Grand Forks
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Grand Forks Univ (NWS), ND, 2 miles northwest of Grand Forks at 830 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 15°F and -1°F. June is the wettest at 4.1 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.5 inches; the year adds up to 22.8 inches over 47 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 7 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 179 nights a year. Snowfall averages 48.7 inches a year, most of it in December. That 22.8 inches is more than at 24 of the 31 North Dakota stations used on this site (77%). Warren, MN, 25 miles northeast, has its own station (Argyle, MN): 23.0 inches a year, 0.2 more than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15 | -1 | 0.5 | 2 | 9.5 |
| Feb | 20 | 3 | 0.6 | 2 | 8.2 |
| Mar | 34 | 17 | 0.9 | 3 | 7.8 |
| Apr | 52 | 31 | 1.2 | 3 | 3.0 |
| May | 67 | 44 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 76 | 55 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 80 | 59 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 57 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 70 | 47 | 2.4 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 53 | 35 | 2.0 | 4 | 1.5 |
| Nov | 35 | 20 | 0.8 | 2 | 5.1 |
| Dec | 21 | 6 | 0.7 | 2 | 13.5 |
| Year | 50 | 31 | 22.8 | 47 | 48.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Grand Forks Univ (NWS), ND (830 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 Grand Forks
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 225 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Grand Forks: 194 thunderstorm wind reports, 19 flash floods, 5 heavy rain events, 4 floods and 3 lightning strikes. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 105 mph, on May 22, 2016. Of the 31 North Dakota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 28 have had fewer than Grand Forks.
April 18, 2023: flood 2 miles from the centre of Grand Forks — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “83 ft occurred on 4/24. |NOTE: Damages dollar amount is for the entire county.”
August 8, 2001: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Grand Forks — $500,000 damage.
July 8, 2018: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Grand Forks — $105,000 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 Grand Forks's 3 ZIP codes have filed 2,845 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $72.0 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 2,214 claims (78% of all) and $69.1 million, then Not a named storm in 1979 with 241 and Severe flooding in 2001 with 15. 87% 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, 19 have fewer than Grand Forks.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 2,214 | $69.1 million |
| Not a named storm1979 | 241 | $1.7 million |
| Severe flooding2001 | 15 | $24,000 |
Grand Forks County, which includes Grand Forks, has been named in 38 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 33 of them major disasters (by incident: 23 floods, 12 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on October 22, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Grand Forks County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $25.0 million a year, the 5th highest of 53 North Dakota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $12.1 million (49%), 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 Grand Forks
- East Grand Forks, MN5 mi
- Thompson, ND10 mi
- Warren, MN25 mi
- Crookston, MN25 mi
- Mayville, ND31 mi
- Red Lake Falls, MN36 mi
- Hillsboro, ND36 mi
- Grafton, ND38 mi
- Thief River Falls, MN43 mi
- Ada, MN48 mi
- Fosston, MN66 mi
- Cavalier, ND68 mi
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