North Dakota winter storms
Every recorded winter storm record since 1996 · 53 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 6,541 winter storm records in North Dakota from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 206 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the April 2, 2003 winter storm in Ward County: 3 deaths and 6 injuries. North Dakota ranks 22nd of 51 states and territories by count and 28th of 50 per square mile.
Winter storms in North Dakota, 1996 to 2026
Winter storm records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 6,5411996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 206average
- Deaths
- 27151 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $236Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2022450 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are winter storm records common in North Dakota?
North Dakota averages about 206 winter storm records a year since 2000, 22nd of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2022 (450). Per 10,000 square miles of land, North Dakota records 948 winter storm records since 1996, 28th of 50 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in North Dakota have the most winter storm records?
Per square mile, Steele County leads North Dakota: 153 days with a winter storm record since 1996, 214.8 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Walsh County has the most winter storm records (282 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is winter storm season in North Dakota?
43% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The busiest month is December (1,555 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 1,272 · Feb 975 · Mar 1,027 · Apr 736 · May 69 · Jun 10 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 306 · Nov 591 · Dec 1,555 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest winter storm records in North Dakota?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-04-02 | Winter StormWard County · forecast zone Ward A third in a series of low pressure systems over Wyoming and western South Dakota moved east...southeast and intensifiedover the Northern Plains during the day reaching southern Minnesota and northern Iowa on Thursday, April 3rd.A stationary surface frontal boundary extended from northeastern Montana through central ... | 3 | 6 | – | |
| 1997-01-09 | BlizzardFoster County · forecast zone Foster One storm episode: 36 records in 36 places; the totals are the episode's. The second blizzard in less than 1 week brought North Dakota to a virtual standstill. This blizzard didn't bring as much snow as the first storm, but the winds gusted from the northwest as high at 40 mph and they lasted for 3 days. Snowfall amounts from this storm varied from 1-2 inches in the southwest to 2-4 inches ... | 2 | 45 | $2.8M | |
| 1997-04-04 | BlizzardEmmons County · forecast zone Emmons One storm episode: 33 records in 33 places; the totals are the episode's. Warm weather the first three days of April lead much of North Dakota to believe that spring had arrived with temperatures in the 60s and 70s. Mother Nature had other plans. A very strong area of low pressure moved out of the Colorado area into the northern plains. Warm moist air ahead of the low collided with cold air ... | 2 | 16 | $45M | |
| 1997-11-20 | Winter WeatherMc Kenzie, Burleigh County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Freezing drizzle fell across parts of South Central North Dakota most of the afternoon. The deceased was driving a pickup eastbound on I-94 when he lost control of the vehicle and crossed them median hitting a suburban head on. All 8 people in the suburban suffered minor injuries. The deceased's wife was also injured. ... | 2 | 13 | $64K | |
| 1997-01-15 | BlizzardLogan County · forecast zone Logan One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. The 3rd blizzard to hit North Dakota in less than 3 weeks affected mainly the east-central and eastern part of the state. Again, like the previous blizzard, the winds was the major weather factor. Wind gusts at times were over 50 mph. This created widespread blowing and drifting snow. All major roads in the area were ... | 2 | 10 | $1.7M | |
| 2007-03-02 | BlizzardRenville County · forecast zone Renville Strong northwest winds with gusts in excess of 35 mph, reduced visibilities in blowing snow to 1/4 mile or less, and created treacherous road conditions with ice and snow cover. Two (2) indirect fatalities and three (3) indirect injuries in a car accident due to icy roads near the Glenburn/Lansford area. | 2 | 3 | $21K | |
| 2007-02-28 | Winter StormMcLean County · forecast zone McLean Six inches of snow fell at both Underwood and Max. There were two (2) indirect fatalities in a car accident due to icy roads just south of Washburn. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2022-04-12 | BlizzardMcKenzie County · forecast zone McKenzie One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A strong Colorado low lifted slowly through the Northern Plains into the Upper Midwest, resulting in a multi-day blizzard over most of North Dakota. Snow spread from southwest to northeast on April 12, with conditions rapidly deteriorating upon the onset of the snow due to the strong easterly winds. By the late ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 1999-01-01 | Winter StormWilliams County · forecast zone Williams A trough of low pressure extended from the northern plains into an area of intense low pressure system over the central plains. A strong upper level short wave accompanied the surface trough as it moved through the northern plains on New Years day. Heavy snow fell along and east of the surface trough with 6 to 8 ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2006-10-30 | Winter WeatherMcKenzie County · forecast zone McKenzie A traffic accident about 8 miles south of Watford City resulted in the fatality (indirect) of a 10 year old female. Three others were injured (indirect). The North Dakota Highway Patrol reported that the driver of the vehicle lost control on compacted snow. The vehicle went into a ditch and rolled 1 1/4 times. A few ... | 1 | 3 | $22K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest winter storm records in North Dakota
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-04-02 | Winter StormMorton County · forecast zone Morton One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $49M | |
| 1997-04-04 | BlizzardEmmons County · forecast zone Emmons One storm episode: 33 records in 33 places; the totals are the episode's. | 2 | 16 | $45M | |
| 2022-04-23 | BlizzardWilliams County · forecast zone Williams One storm episode: 10 records in 10 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $38M | |
| 2010-01-25 | BlizzardMorton County · forecast zone Morton One storm episode: 13 records in 13 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $24M | |
| 1997-01-04 | BlizzardMcLean County · forecast zone McLean One storm episode: 26 records in 26 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 10 | $12M | |
| 1997-04-05 | BlizzardWalsh County · forecast zone Eastern Walsh One storm episode: 17 records in 17 places; the totals are the episode's. | 1 | 0 | $11M | |
| 1997-04-04 | Ice StormWalsh County · forecast zone Eastern Walsh One storm episode: 16 records in 16 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $11M | |
| 2013-10-04 | Heavy SnowGrant County · forecast zone Grant One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $9.6M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are winter storm records becoming more frequent in North Dakota?
North Dakota's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | North Dakota | United States | North Dakota's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 1,105 | 32,893 | 3.4% |
| 2000s | 1,911 | 88,805 | 2.2% |
| 2010s | 2,264 | 103,626 | 2.2% |
| 2020-26 | 1,261 | 62,015 | 2.0% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent winter storm records in North Dakota
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-03 | Heavy SnowTraill County · forecast zone Traill | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Heavy SnowSteele County · forecast zone Steele | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Heavy SnowRansom County · forecast zone Ransom | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Heavy SnowGriggs County · forecast zone Griggs | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Heavy SnowEddy County · forecast zone Eddy | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Heavy SnowRichland County · forecast zone Richland | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Heavy SnowSargent County · forecast zone Sargent | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Heavy SnowBarnes County · forecast zone Barnes | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Heavy SnowCass County · forecast zone Cass | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Heavy SnowWells County · forecast zone Wells | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Heavy SnowSheridan County · forecast zone Sheridan | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Heavy SnowMcLean County · forecast zone McLean | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for winter storm records in North Dakota
FEMA has declared 19 disasters in North Dakota for winter storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name snow or winter storm or ice storm or blizzard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 17 were major disasters, the latest on February 15, 2024.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-02-15 | DR-4760 | Severe Winter Storm and Straight-Line Winds | 13 |
| 2023-02-05 | DR-4686 | Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Straight-Line Winds | 7 |
| 2022-07-13 | DR-4660 | Severe Winter Storm and Flooding | 40 |
| 2013-10-31 | DR-4154 | Severe Winter Storm | 7 |
| 2011-05-20 | DR-1986 | Severe Winter Storm | 9 |
| 2010-04-21 | DR-1901 | Severe Winter Storm | 13 |
| 2010-02-26 | DR-1879 | Severe Winter Storm | 26 |
| 2006-01-04 | DR-1621 | Severe Winter Storm | 4 |
| 2005-11-21 | DR-1616 | Severe Winter Storm and Record and/Or Near Record Snow | 21 |
| 2004-04-02 | EM-3196 | Snow | 10 |
| 2000-12-29 | DR-1353 | Severe Winter Storms and Tornadoes | 9 |
| 1999-06-08 | DR-1279 | Severe Storms, Flooding, Snow, Ice, Ground Saturation, Lanslides, Mudslides, and Tor | 46 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Steele County: the county's whole recordThe North Dakota county with the most winter storm records per square mile
- Winter storms across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in North DakotaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Hail in North Dakota10,026 records
- Severe thunderstorm wind in North Dakota6,888 records
- High wind and dust storms in North Dakota2,659 records