Renville County, North Dakota

What hazards hit Renville County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 106 since 1996. 43% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. 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 Renville County had?

NOAA records 25 tornadoes in Renville County from 1953 to 2016, the strongest rated F2, with 1 death and 3 injuries recorded in the county. That is 21st 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 25 tornadoes whose track touched Renville County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 25, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person.

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 Renville County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the August 6, 2024 thunderstorm wind ($141,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

A roof was blown off of a pole barn, and the walls were also damaged.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1205303)

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 Renville 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?

43% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Renville County

FEMA's register lists 25 declarations that include Renville County: 23 major disasters, 2 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 Renville County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 11 flood or flash flood records for Renville County from 2004 to 2014, on 11 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Renville County ranks 1865th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $124,000 on 33 claims filed in Renville County; the most in one year was 28 in 1979. 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 Renville County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Renville County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $2.4 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 Renville County

1. Ward County 817
2. McHenry County 577
3. Bottineau County 525
4. Burke County 419
5. Renville County 384

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
• Winter storms in North DakotaThe state's winter storm records, 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 Renville CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Renville County's FEMA declarations (CSV)25 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis