Emmons County, North Dakota

What hazards hit Emmons County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 141 since 1960. 65% of its hail reports since 1960 fell in June and July. The rank column places the county among North Dakota's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Emmons County had?

NOAA records 42 tornadoes in Emmons County from 1953 to 2025, the strongest rated F5, with 0 deaths and 3 injuries recorded in the county. That is 24th of 53 North Dakota counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 43 tornadoes whose track touched Emmons County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 42: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 2 people, 0 of them in Emmons County.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in North Dakota.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Emmons County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the September 14, 2025 tornado ($450,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Initial damage near the start of the tornado consisted of crop damage. The tornado then travelled northwest to a farmstead where it dented in the south facing side of a large, mostly empty grain bin. It then proceeded to destroy an 80 by 124 foot pole barn to the north. Inside the barn, farm equipment was damaged including a combine which had the south facing door to barn resting on it. Debris was scattered in all directions and several hundred feet away. Large pieces of board from the destroyed building were embedded in the ground including part of a rafter. There was limited tree damage to the row of trees to the north of this property. The tornado then progressed to the north before dissipating. Based on the damage done this tornado was rated EF-2, and from that wind speeds were estimated to be around 120 mph.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1294423)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Emmons County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

65% of its hail reports since 1960 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Emmons County

FEMA's register lists 26 declarations that include Emmons County: 20 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (13) and severe storm (8).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Emmons County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 9 flood or flash flood records for Emmons County from 1997 to 2021, on 9 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Emmons County ranks 1407th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $1.1 million on 82 claims filed in Emmons County; the most in one year was 23 in 2009. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Emmons County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Emmons County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $11.8 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Emmons County

1. Morton County 1,035
2. Corson County, SD 939
3. Burleigh County 899
4. Campbell County, SD 519
5. Emmons County 503
6. Kidder County 461
7. McIntosh County 454
8. Sioux County 418
9. Logan County 381

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in North DakotaEvery North Dakota tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Hail in North DakotaThe state's hail reports, by county, year and month
• The North Dakota recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Emmons CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Emmons County's FEMA declarations (CSV)26 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis