NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Minot Afb, 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 Minot Afb, North Dakota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 55 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 55
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Minot Afb
The strongest of the 55 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on July 6, 1977; its path came within 22 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on July 23, 1997, killed 1 person. Of the 55, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 7 have come since 2000. July has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on July 21, 2013. Minot Afb has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 48% of the 37 North Dakota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 50 times since 1963, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 37 North Dakota cities, 59% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Minot Afb.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Minot Afb
By decade
- 2010s1
- 2000s6
- 1990s23
- 1980s13
- 1970s7(1 EF3+)
- 1960s4
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 6, 1977 | F3 | 22 mi | 17.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 23, 1997 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.2 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Jun 6, 1982 | F2 | 20 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 1974 | F2 | 16 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 2, 1960 | F2 | 8 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 13, 1999 | F1 | 13 mi | 11 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 13, 1999 | F1 | 22 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 4, 1980 | F1 | 2 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 21, 2013 | EF0 | 20 mi | 4.55 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 25, 2004 | F0 | 16 mi | — | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 9, 2002 | F0 | 24 mi | — | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 7, 2000 | F0 | 18 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 55, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Minot Afb
The Storm Prediction Center has 50 hail reports within 10 miles of Minot Afb since 1963, made on 36 separate days. Of these, 33 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 11, 2000. The most recent report is from August 10, 2023. July and August have the most reports, 14 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Minot Afb
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Minot International Airport, ND, 11 miles south of Minot Afb at 1,665 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 59°F; January is the coolest, at 23°F and 4°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 13 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 177 nights a year. Snowfall averages 45.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 16.8 inches is more than at 3 of the 31 North Dakota stations used on this site (10%).
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23 | 4 | 0.3 | 1 | 9.8 |
| Feb | 27 | 8 | 0.3 | 1 | 5.4 |
| Mar | 40 | 19 | 0.5 | 1 | 6.1 |
| Apr | 56 | 31 | 1.0 | 3 | 4.5 |
| May | 69 | 43 | 2.7 | 6 | 0.7 |
| Jun | 78 | 54 | 3.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 59 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 84 | 56 | 2.1 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 47 | 1.6 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Oct | 57 | 34 | 1.2 | 3 | 1.2 |
| Nov | 40 | 21 | 0.6 | 2 | 9.2 |
| Dec | 27 | 9 | 0.3 | 1 | 8.1 |
| Year | 55 | 32 | 16.8 | 37 | 45.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Minot International Airport, ND (1,665 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 Minot Afb
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 40 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Minot Afb: 35 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 floods and 2 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 119 mph, on July 23, 1997.
June 17, 2010: flash flood 10 miles from the centre of Minot Afb — $800,000 damage.
April 1, 2013: flood 10 miles from the centre of Minot Afb — $350,000 damage.
NWS: “A late season rapid snow melt caused flooding along the Souris (Mouse) River and Des Lacs River through Ward County. Additionally, there were necessary releases from upstream dams in North Dakota and Saskatchewan, Canada, due to rapid snow melt there.”
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
Ward County, which includes Minot Afb, has been named in 28 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 14 floods, 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Winter Storm and Flooding, on July 13, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Ward County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $36.8 million a year, the 3rd highest of 53 North Dakota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.9 million (21%), 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 Minot Afb
- Minot, ND13 mi
- Stanley, ND50 mi
- Bottineau, ND52 mi
- Garrison, ND54 mi
- Rugby, ND61 mi
- New Town, ND63 mi
- Dunseith, ND66 mi
- Tioga, ND74 mi
- Belcourt, ND77 mi
- Hazen, ND79 mi
- Harvey, ND82 mi
- Beulah, ND84 mi
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