Counties with the most tornadoes in North Dakota

It's been a busy year for tornadoes in the U.S. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as many as 1,155 twisters have touched down across the country since the start of the year, above the average for this time of year.

A single day can drive up tornado counts. March 31, 2023, accounted for 163 tornadoes across the Midwest and South. Tornado activity usually peaks in the spring and early summer, and the pace of tornadoes usually slows around late summer. A smaller-scale second tornado season emerges in the fall, mostly in the Gulf Coast states.

Stacker used data from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information to find the counties in North Dakota that have experienced the most tornadoes since 2000. While data is available going back to 1950, tornado tracking by the National Weather Service became more robust and accurate in the 1990s. Since counties can vary in size, they are ranked by the number of tornadoes per 100 square miles. Counties that experienced less than five tornadoes are not included.

The counties that encounter the most tornadoes aren't all in the infamous Tornado Alley. When adjusted for county area, the top 10 counties that experienced the most tornadoes since 2000 are from nine different states, all in the Southeast with the exception of Cleveland County, Oklahoma.

Research has shown that Tornado Alley is shifting due to warming temperatures fueled by climate change. In the future, the Southeast could become the region that receives the bulk of the country's tornadoes. It's a concerning trend as the South is more populated than the Great Plains and has a higher concentration of mobile homes than other parts of the country, making the storms potentially deadlier and costlier.

As of August 2023, 75 people have died from tornadoes this year, and over 60% of those deaths occurred in mobile homes.

The best way to stay protected during tornadoes is to have multiple ways of receiving storm updates including social media, radio, television, and sirens, and to immediately seek shelter in a basement or interior room without windows when a tornado watch escalates to a warning.

Read on to see which counties experience the most tornadoes in North Dakota.

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#47. Williams County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (0.24 per 100 square miles)
- #2,042 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#46. Mountrail County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (0.27 per 100 square miles)
- #2,035 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#45. Grant County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (0.36 per 100 square miles)
- #2,014 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#44. Kidder County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (0.37 per 100 square miles)
- #2,009 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#43. Divide County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (0.40 per 100 square miles)
- #2,000 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#42. Emmons County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (0.40 per 100 square miles)
- #1,999 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#41. McKenzie County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (0.40 per 100 square miles)
- #1,998 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#40. Bowman County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (0.43 per 100 square miles)
- #1,992 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#39. Stutsman County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (0.45 per 100 square miles)
- #1,990 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#38. Mercer County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (0.48 per 100 square miles)
- #1,983 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#37. Ward County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (0.50 per 100 square miles)
- #1,976 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#36. Dunn County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (0.50 per 100 square miles)
- #1,975 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#35. Logan County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (0.50 per 100 square miles)
- #1,973 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#34. McHenry County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (0.53 per 100 square miles)
- #1,964 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#33. Wells County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (0.55 per 100 square miles)
- #1,960 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#32. Pierce County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (0.59 per 100 square miles)
- #1,949 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#31. Bottineau County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (0.60 per 100 square miles)
- #1,946 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#30. Sioux County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (0.64 per 100 square miles)
- #1,932 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#29. Oliver County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 5 (0.69 per 100 square miles)
- #1,919 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#28. Burleigh County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (0.74 per 100 square miles)
- #1,904 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#27. McIntosh County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (0.82 per 100 square miles)
- #1,865 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#26. Stark County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (0.90 per 100 square miles)
- #1,825 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#25. McLean County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 19 (0.90 per 100 square miles)
- #1,824 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#24. Renville County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (0.91 per 100 square miles)
- #1,818 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#23. Hettinger County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (0.97 per 100 square miles)
- #1,790 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#22. Rolette County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (1.00 per 100 square miles)
- #1,776 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#21. Ransom County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (1.16 per 100 square miles)
- #1,672 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#20. LaMoure County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (1.22 per 100 square miles)
- #1,627 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#19. Ramsey County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (1.26 per 100 square miles)
- #1,576 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#18. Burke County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (1.27 per 100 square miles)
- #1,571 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#17. Morton County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 25 (1.30 per 100 square miles)
- #1,554 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#16. Dickey County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (1.33 per 100 square miles)
- #1,538 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#15. Cavalier County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 22 (1.48 per 100 square miles)
- #1,433 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#14. Eddy County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (1.59 per 100 square miles)
- #1,365 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#13. Barnes County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 24 (1.61 per 100 square miles)
- #1,346 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#12. Sargent County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (1.86 per 100 square miles)
- #1,155 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#11. Richland County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 27 (1.88 per 100 square miles)
- #1,140 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#10. Towner County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 22 (2.15 per 100 square miles)
- #957 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#9. Benson County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 30 (2.16 per 100 square miles)
- #951 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#8. Cass County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 41 (2.32 per 100 square miles)
- #843 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#7. Walsh County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 31 (2.42 per 100 square miles)
- #774 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#6. Traill County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 22 (2.55 per 100 square miles)
- #702 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#5. Pembina County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 29 (2.59 per 100 square miles)
- #688 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#4. Griggs County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 19 (2.68 per 100 square miles)
- #640 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#3. Nelson County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 27 (2.75 per 100 square miles)
- #610 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#2. Steele County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 24 (3.37 per 100 square miles)
- #362 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#1. Grand Forks County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 63 (4.39 per 100 square miles)
- #172 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0