Walsh County, North Dakota

What hazards hit Walsh County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 282 since 1996. 51% 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 Walsh County had?

NOAA records 54 tornadoes in Walsh County from 1960 to 2025, the strongest rated F2, with 0 deaths and 1 injury recorded in the county. That is 11th 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 56 tornadoes whose track touched Walsh County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 54: 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 Walsh County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 18, 2023 flood ($969,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Oslo - Crest of 36.27 feet occurred on 4/24. Flooding extended into May. NOTE: Damages dollar amount is for the entire county. Not separated by specific river basin or damage type.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1096804)

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 Walsh 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?

51% 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 Walsh County

FEMA's register lists 41 declarations that include Walsh County: 36 major disasters, 5 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (25) and severe storm (13).

The 40 most recent of 41 are listed; the CSV has every one.

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 Walsh County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 56 flood or flash flood records for Walsh County from 1996 to 2023, on 45 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Walsh County ranks 390th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $3.1 million on 782 claims filed in Walsh County; the most in one year was 362 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 Walsh County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Walsh County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $12.1 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 Walsh County

1. Grand Forks County 1,357
2. Walsh County 1,059
3. Marshall County, MN 954
4. Ramsey County 815
5. Pembina County 789
6. Cavalier County 740
7. Nelson County 725

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 Walsh CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Walsh County's FEMA declarations (CSV)41 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis