Steele County, North Dakota

What hazards hit Steele County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 175 since 1971. 59% of its hail reports since 1971 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 Steele County had?

NOAA records 44 tornadoes in Steele County from 1958 to 2022, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 1 injury recorded in the county. That is 2nd 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 45 tornadoes whose track touched Steele County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 44: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 0 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 Steele County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the August 9, 2021 tornado ($168,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

This tornado tracked from far northeast Sharon Township across far northwest Westfield Township. A tornado Debris Signature was evident on KMVX radar. The tornado completely dismantled and destroyed a barn at one farmstead. It also snapped or uprooted numerous spruce, ash, cottonwood, and willow trees at various locations along its path.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 983103)

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 Steele 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?

59% of its hail reports since 1971 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 Steele County

FEMA's register lists 31 declarations that include Steele County: 29 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (14) and severe storm (13).

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 Steele County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 28 flood or flash flood records for Steele County from 1996 to 2019, on 21 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Steele County ranks 2436th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $135,000 on 8 claims filed in Steele County; the most in one year was 5 in 2004. 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 Steele County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Steele County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $4.3 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 Steele County

1. Cass County 1,498
2. Grand Forks County 1,357
3. Barnes County 911
4. Nelson County 725
5. Traill County 708
6. Steele County 648
7. Griggs County 620

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 Steele CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Steele County's FEMA declarations (CSV)31 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis