NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rugby, 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 Rugby, North Dakota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 27 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 27
- 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 Rugby
The strongest of the 27 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on May 30, 1958; its path came within 23 miles. Of the 27, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 12 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 10. The most recent tornado was on May 23, 2020. Of the 37 North Dakota cities on this site, 86% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Rugby. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 48 times since 1973, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 37 North Dakota cities, 65% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Rugby.
Compare Rugby's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Rugby
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s3
- 2000s8
- 1990s4
- 1980s4
- 1970s6
- 1950s1(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 30, 1958 | F3 | 23 mi | 10.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 9, 2017 | EF2 | 12 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 21, 1973 | F2 | 7 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 20, 2011 | EF1 | 2 mi | 1.25 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 2005 | F1 | 21 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 2005 | F1 | 17 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 2005 | F1 | 16 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 19, 2004 | F1 | 16 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 4, 2000 | F1 | 18 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 6, 1989 | F1 | 20 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 30, 1984 | F1 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 4, 1978 | F1 | 6 mi | 5.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 27, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rugby
The Storm Prediction Center has 48 hail reports within 10 miles of Rugby since 1973, made on 38 separate days. Of these, 31 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on July 6, 1977. The most recent report is from July 14, 2024. July has the most reports, 21.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Rugby
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Rugby, ND, 6 miles north of Rugby at 1,550 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 55°F; January is the coolest, at 16°F and -4°F. June is the wettest at 3.8 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.5 inches; the year adds up to 21.0 inches over 45 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 7 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 195 nights a year. Snowfall averages 43.4 inches a year, most of it in January and December. That 21.0 inches is more than at 19 of the 31 North Dakota stations used on this site (61%). Harvey, 36 miles south, has its own station (Fessenden, ND): 17.3 inches a year, 3.7 less than here, and the same July average high, 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16 | -4 | 0.5 | 2 | 8.0 |
| Feb | 21 | 0 | 0.5 | 1 | 6.4 |
| Mar | 34 | 14 | 0.9 | 2 | 6.5 |
| Apr | 52 | 28 | 1.3 | 3 | 2.9 |
| May | 66 | 40 | 3.0 | 7 | 0.9 |
| Jun | 75 | 51 | 3.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 80 | 55 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 53 | 2.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 70 | 44 | 1.8 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 54 | 30 | 1.4 | 3 | 3.3 |
| Nov | 35 | 16 | 0.9 | 2 | 7.4 |
| Dec | 21 | 3 | 1.0 | 1 | 8.0 |
| Year | 50 | 27 | 21.0 | 45 | 43.4 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Rugby, ND (1,550 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 Rugby
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 33 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rugby: 33 thunderstorm wind reports. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 110 mph, on June 20, 2023.
August 13, 2007: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Rugby — $545,000 damage.
NWS: “High wind blew down four 40 foot trees. Nickel to walnut sized hail was also reported with the winds.”
June 20, 2023: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Rugby — $350,000 damage.
NWS: “Five empty anchored down hopper style grain bins were blown over, a trailer rolled through the yard, a gazebo was destroyed, a pool fence was blown down, and tall cottonwood trees were snapped. The farm had an anemometer on site that recorded the strongest wind gust.”
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
Pierce County, which includes Rugby, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 21 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 floods, 9 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 1, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Pierce County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $3.4 million a year, the 40th highest of 53 North Dakota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $582,000 (17%), 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 Rugby
- Harvey, ND36 mi
- Dunseith, ND40 mi
- Belcourt, ND41 mi
- Bottineau, ND45 mi
- Devils Lake, ND53 mi
- Minot, ND59 mi
- Minot Afb, ND61 mi
- Carrington, ND71 mi
- Garrison, ND83 mi
- Langdon, ND86 mi
- Hazen, ND101 mi
- Bismarck, ND106 mi
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