Wells County, North Dakota

What hazards hit Wells County most?

The most frequent records are hail reports: 122 since 1963. 61% of its hail reports since 1963 fell in July and August. 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 Wells County had?

NOAA records 25 tornadoes in Wells County from 1952 to 2024, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 1 injury recorded in the county. 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 27 tornadoes whose track touched Wells County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 25: 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 Wells County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 27, 2025 hail ($500,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

Wind driven hail caused extensive damage throughout the community of Bowdon, with most homes suffering broken windows. Significant vehicle damage also occurred along with widespread roof damage.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1263586)

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 Wells 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?

61% of its hail reports since 1963 fell in July and August. The two busiest months are in violet.

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

Federal disaster declarations for Wells County

FEMA's register lists 29 declarations that include Wells County: 27 major disasters, 2 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (14) 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 Wells County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 17 flood or flash flood records for Wells County from 1999 to 2023, on 16 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Wells County ranks 2756th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $81,000 on 2 claims filed in Wells County; the most in one year was 1 in 1995. 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 Wells County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Wells County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $4.2 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 Wells County

1. Benson County 853
2. Stutsman County 797
3. Eddy County 550
4. Kidder County 461
5. Wells County 453
6. Foster County 405
7. Pierce County 382
8. Sheridan County 331

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 Wells CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Wells County's FEMA declarations (CSV)29 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis