Ward County, North Dakota

What hazards hit Ward County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 290 since 1957. 58% 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 Ward County had?

NOAA records 57 tornadoes in Ward County from 1954 to 2026, the strongest rated EF3, with 1 death and 2 injuries recorded in the county. That is 22nd 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 55 tornadoes whose track touched Ward 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 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 Ward County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 9, 2026 thunderstorm wind ($40,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Ward County Emergency Manager reported damage in Sawyer due to thunderstorm wind gusts. Damage includes power outages, numerous trees down on roads, and a large tree fell onto a house and made a hole in the roof. Damage is consistent with wind speeds around 90 mph.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1348772)

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

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 Ward 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?

58% 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 Ward County

FEMA's register lists 28 declarations that include Ward County: 22 major disasters, 6 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (14) 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 Ward County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 25 flood or flash flood records for Ward County from 2005 to 2023, on 23 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Ward County ranks 306th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $69.5 million on 1,107 claims filed in Ward County; the most in one year was 640 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 Ward County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Ward County Relatively Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $36.8 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 Ward County

1. Ward County 817
2. McLean County 799
3. Mountrail County 630
4. McHenry County 577
5. Burke County 419
6. 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
• 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 Ward CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Ward County's FEMA declarations (CSV)28 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis