Stutsman County, North Dakota

What hazards hit Stutsman County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 257 since 1957. 60% of its hail reports since 1957 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 Stutsman County had?

NOAA records 57 tornadoes in Stutsman County from 1952 to 2025, the strongest rated F4, with 0 deaths and 9 injuries recorded in the county. That is 27th 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 58 tornadoes whose track touched Stutsman County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 57: 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 Stutsman County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the August 8, 2025 thunderstorm wind ($750,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Significant damage occurred to buildings and grain handling equipment. Two newer pole-barn buildings had a significant portion of the structure destroyed with collapsed walls and roofs. The damage was primarily on the west side of both buildings, with farm equipment damaged inside. Another large building had multiple roof panels on its east side blown off. Multiple grain bins were damaged, one suffering very significant damage to its roofing structure. A large grain dryer was toppled when the grain leg system collapsed.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1289723)

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 Stutsman 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?

60% of its hail reports since 1957 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 Stutsman County

FEMA's register lists 31 declarations that include Stutsman County: 27 major disasters, 4 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (15) and severe storm (11).

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 Stutsman County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 24 flood or flash flood records for Stutsman County from 1997 to 2024, on 23 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Stutsman County ranks 1180th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $758,000 on 127 claims filed in Stutsman County; the most in one year was 43 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 Stutsman County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Stutsman County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $16.3 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 Stutsman County

1. Barnes County 911
2. Stutsman County 797
3. Griggs County 620
4. LaMoure County 483
5. Kidder County 461
6. Wells County 453
7. Foster County 405
8. 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 Stutsman CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Stutsman County's FEMA declarations (CSV)31 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis