Morton County, North Dakota

What hazards hit Morton County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 424 since 1959. 63% of its hail reports since 1959 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 Morton County had?

NOAA records 54 tornadoes in Morton County from 1953 to 2025, the strongest rated F5, with 2 deaths and 20 injuries recorded in the county. That is 23rd 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 54 tornadoes whose track touched Morton County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 54, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 2 people.

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 Morton County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 7, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($10,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

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

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

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 Morton 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?

63% of its hail reports since 1959 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 Morton County

FEMA's register lists 27 declarations that include Morton County: 24 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (16) 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 Morton County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 22 flood or flash flood records for Morton County from 1997 to 2025, on 20 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Morton County ranks 895th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $2.8 million on 216 claims filed in Morton County; the most in one year was 88 in 2011. 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 Morton County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Morton County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $25.6 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 Morton County

1. Morton County 1,035
2. Burleigh County 899
3. Stark County 729
4. Grant County 531
5. Mercer County 528
6. Emmons County 503
7. Sioux County 418
8. Oliver County 376

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 Morton CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Morton County's FEMA declarations (CSV)27 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis