Grand Forks, ND

Weather Forecast Office

Event Summaries

Severe Thunderstorms / Tornadoes
Flooding
Winter
Heat / Cold
Other

Severe Thunderstorms / Tornadoes

The following summaries cover "significant" or widespread thunderstorm outbreaks and tornadoes. Tornadoes, hail, wind damage, and flash flooding impacts can be found in these summaries.

Scroll down the page for year, or go directly:

2024

August 3rd: Large Hail
July 31st: Wind and Hail
J uly 23rd: Wind and Hail
July 13th: Barney EF1
June 17th/18th: Wind Event

2023

July 13th: Significant hail and damaging winds within the Red River Valley into Minnesota
June 24th: Tornadoes in northwest Minnesota

2022

August 5th: Evening large hail across southeastern North Dakota and into northwestern Minnesota
July 14th/15th: Overnight large hail and heavy rain across the Red River Valley
June 24th: Seven storms across far eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota
June 19th/20th: Severe storms evening of June 19th and afternoon/evening of June 20th
June 12th: Severe storms across northwestern Minnesota
May 30th: Wind and tornado event across west-central Minnesota
May 12th: Significant severe event - Midwest derecho

2021

October 9th: Tornadoes and heavy rainfall caused by a closed upper-level low that spawned a late-season squall line.
August 20th: Severe weather from supercells including sporadic gusty winds, multiple wall clouds and funnels, a brief tornado, and heavy rain.
August 9th: Severe weather across northeast North Dakota and into northwestern Minnesota
July 26th: Large hail and tornadoes across north central Minnesota
July 23rd: Hail and wind across far southern North Dakota and west central/north central Minnesota
June 11th: Damaging winds across eastern North Dakota and portions of northwest through west central Minnesota
June 7th/8th: Hail and wind across southeastern North Dakota and west central Minnesota
June 5th/6th: Damaging winds across northeastern North Dakota

2020

August 14th: Severe weather event including tornadoes and flash flooding
August 9th: Hail, wind, and tornadoes across the region
July 17th: EF-1 tornado near Church's Ferry and severe wind/hail across the region
July 8th: EF-4 tornado across west central Minnesota near the Ashby - Dalton area.
June 17th: Severe wind and hail across eastern North Dakota and far northwest Minnesota
June 8th: Tornadoes, wind and hail across eastern North Dakota and northwest Minnesota
June 7th: Severe weather event across eastern North Dakota and northwest Minnesota

2019

September 20th-21st: Heavy rain leading to flash flooding, including significant flooding in the Grand Forks metro.
September 2nd: Damaging hail and wind event across southeast ND and west central MN (including Fargo wind damage)
July 14th: Wind, hail, and heavy rainfall across southeastern ND and west central MN
July 9th: Afternoon/evening funnel clouds, tornadoes, strong winds, and heavy rainfall across southeastern ND and into west central MN
July 8th: Afternoon/evening damaging wind in eastern ND and west central MN with flash flooding in Fargo-Moorhead metro
July 3rd: Evening damaging hail and wind and heavy rain across parts of southeast ND and northwest MN
June 29th/30th: Overnight and Morning Damaging Hail and Winds for Northwest and west central Minnesota
June 29th: Morning and Afternoon Damaging Hail and Winds and Wake Low for eastern ND and Red River Valley (including Fargo)
June 7th/8th: Northeast ND severe storms (7th) and Red River Valley and NW MN severe storms/tornado (8th)
June 4th: Severe thunderstorms in eastern North Dakota and northwestern MN with largest hail in Beltrami County, MN
May 24th: 3 eastern North Dakota tornadoes and Waubun, MN twin tornadoes
May 15th: Hail and Damaging Wind Event across eastern North Dakota and northwest Minnesota

2018

August 26-27: Late Night Winger and Pine Lake tornadoes with Wind and Hail Damage
July 11th: Ponemah and Saum Tornadoes
July 8th: Evening Severe Thunderstorms and Milnor, ND Tornado
July 8th: Early Morning Straight Line Wind Event
July 4th: Early Morning Bemidji Tornado and Line of Damaging Winds
July 2nd: Wall Clouds and Severe Hail
June 28th/29th: High Winds and Widespread Damaging Winds
June 14th/15th: Towner and Cavalier County Tornadoes and Two Rounds of Storms with Large Hail
June 8th: Petersburg, Emerado, and southern Red River Valley Tornadoes
June 5th/6th: Hail and Damaging Wind Event across the Red River Valley

2017

September 19th: Beltrami, MN and Litchville, ND Tornadoes
September 1st: Eastern North Dakota Tornado
July 31st: Hail and Damaging Winds Across Eastern North Dakota and Western Minnesota
July 21st-22nd: Kelliher and Glyndon, MN Tornadoes and Significant Wind Damage in Bemidji, MN area
July 11th: Tornado Outbreak (11 total) - ND and the Red River Valley
July 4th and 6th: Two Rounds of Hail and Wind Damage across the area
June 13th: Morning Wake Low Wind Damage in Grand Forks area, Southern Red River Valley Wind Damage and Hail
June 9th: 3 ND Tornadoes, Hail and Wind Damage across the area
June 7th: Inkster and Hatton EF-0 Cold Core Tornadoes
March 23rd and 24th: Rain and Small Hail Event

2016

August 28th: Tornado/Severe Thunderstorm Event Summary
August 27th: Tornado/Severe Thunderstorm Event Summary
August 3rd: Tornado/Severe Thunderstorm Event Summary
July 19th: Severe Thunderstorm Event Summary
June 17th: Straight-line Early Morning Thunderstorm Wind Damage
May 22nd: Grand Forks Wind Event

2015

August 28th: Baseball Hail - Northern Red River Valley
August 12th: Severe Thunderstorm Event Summary - 4.5 Inch Hail (Roseau County)
July 23rd-24th: QLCS Severe Event (Rindal and Tolna Tornadoes)
July 12th: Severe weather event
June 27th: Tornado Outbreak (19 tornadoes EF0-EF2)
June 22nd: Mahnomen, MN Tornado

2014

Coming Soon!

2013

Coming Soon!

2012

June 20th : Two weak tornadoes in Grand Forks county
April 21st : West-central Minnesota Tornadoes

2011

July 20th: Downburst Wind Event Northwest Minnesota

2010

June 17th: North Dakota and Minnesota Historic Tornado Outbreak

2009

Coming Soon!

2008

Coming Soon!

2007

August 26th: Northwood ND EF4 Tornado
June 7th: Otter Tail County Minnesota Tornadoes

2006

August 5th: Southeast ND and Northwest MN Tornadoes, including Warroad F3

2005

Coming Soon!

2004

Coming Soon!

2003

Coming Soon!

2002

Coming Soon!

2001

Coming Soon!

2000

Coming Soon!

Historic

Flooding

The following summaries cover "significant" or widespread riverine flooding. If the flooding event accompanied severe thunderstorms or tornado outbreaks, it will likely be included in that event's summary under the "Severe Thunderstorms / Tornadoes" section.

2020

Coming Soon!

2019

Coming Soon?

2018

None

2017

None

2016

None

2015

Coming Soon!

2014

Coming Soon!

2013

Coming Soon!

2012

Coming Soon!

2011

Coming Soon!

2010

Coming Soon!

2009

Spring 2009: Visible Satellite imagery shows flooding

2008

Coming Soon!

2007

Coming Soon!

2006

Coming Soon!

2005

Coming Soon!

2004

Coming Soon!

2003

Coming Soon!

2002

Coming Soon!

2001

Coming Soon!

2000

Coming Soon!

Historic

Coming Soon!

Winter Storms

The following summaries cover "significant" or widespread winter storms. Heavy snow, sleet, freezing rain, and blizzards can be found in these summaries. If the event focused on wind chills, it will be found under the "Heat / Cold" section.

Scroll down the page for year, or go directly:

2024

December 4th: Snow Squalls
March 24th through 27th: Heavy Snowfall Event
February 27th: Heavy Snow and Blizzard
January 11th and 13th: Blizzard and Extreme Cold Summary

2023

December 25th-27th: Ice Storm Summary
October 25th - 27th: Heavy Snow Event Summary
April 4th - 6th: Blizzard Event Summary
February 28th - March 1st: Heavy Snow Event Summary
February 14th: Blizzard Event Summary

2022

December 23rd: Ground Blizzard Event Summary
December 12th-16th: Long Duration Winter Storm/Blizzard Event Summary
November 9th-11th: Winter Storm Event Summary
February 10th-11th: Blizzard Event Summary
January 31st - February 1st: Blizzard Event Summary
January 4th: Blizzard Event Summary

2021

December 4th-6th: Heavy Snow and Blizzard Summary

2020

December 23rd: Blizzard Summary
April 1st-3rd: Snow and Ice Storm Summary
February 12th: Ground Blizzard Summary
January 17th-18th: Blizzard Summary

2019

December 28-29: Blizzard Summary
November 30th: Winter Storm Summary
October 10th-12th:Blizzard Summary
April 11th: Blizzard Summary
March 13th-14th: Blizzard Summary
March 9th: Heavy Snow Summary
February 24th: Ground Blizzard Summary
February 6th-7th: Blizzard Summary
February 3rd-4th: Winter Storm Summary
January 27th: Blizzard Summary
January 23rd-24th: Ground Blizzard Summary

2018

December 31: New Year's Eve Red River Valley Ground Blizzard Summary
December 26-27: Post-Christmas Blizzard Summary
October 10-11: Heavy Snowfall Summary
March 26th: Snowfall Summary
March 25th: Heavy Snow Summary
March 4th-5th: Winter Storm Summary
February 24th-25th: Snow Event Summary
February 18: Winter Storm Summary
January 10th-11th: Blizzard Summary

2017

December 20th: Winter Storm Summary - Heavy Snow for the Central Red River Valley
December 4th: Blizzard/Winter Storm Event
November 16th-17th: Freezing Rain Event
November 3rd-4th: Winter Storm Summary
March 6-8: Strong Winds and Blizzard Conditions
January 2nd-3rd: Winter Storm Summary

2016

December 25th-26th: Christmas Blizzard and Winter Storm Summary
December 5th-7th: Blizzard and Heavy Snowfall Summary
November 17th-18th: Blizzard and Heavy Snowfall Summary
March 16-18th: Heavy Snowfall Summary Northwest Minnesota
February 23rd: Snowfall Summary
February 9th-10th: Snowfall Summary
February 7th-8th: Blizzard Summary
January 6th-7th: Winter Storm Summary (Narrow Convective Snow Band)

2015

December 31st: 2015 Year in Review
December 22nd: Winter Storm Summary
December 15th-16th: Winter Storm Summary
December 11th: Snowfall Summary
November 30th-December 1st: Winter Weather Event/Snowfall Summary
November 18th-19th: Strong Winds and Light Snow
January 8th: Ground Blizzard Summary

2014

January 26th: Ground Blizzard Summary

2013

April 14th-15th: Heavy Snow over Southeast North Dakota
March 3rd: Heavy Snow Summary

2012

October 4th: Early Season Snowfall
March 1st-3rd: Snow Totals across the area
February 28th-29th: Heavy Snow to the Southern Red River Valley

2011

Coming Soon!

2010

December 30th-31st: Heavy Snow over West Central and Northwest Minnesota
December 15th: Heavy Snow over Devils Lake basin
October 26-27th: Very Heavy Snow and Strong Winds over Devils Lake basin and southern Red River Valley

2009

December 24-25th: Record Snow Event
March 30th-31st: Very Heavy Snow in Southern Red River Valley and Strong Winds

2008

December 29th-30th: Heavy Snow for the southern Red River Valley
April 25-26th: Heavy Snow for West Central Minnesota
April 11th: Heavy Snow Event
April 5-7th: Very Heavy Snow for West Central Minnesota

2007

March 15th-16th: Heavy Snow for northeast North Dakota and the Devils Lake basin

2006

Coming Soon!

2005

Coming Soon!

2004

Coming Soon!

2003

Coming Soon!

2002

Coming Soon!

2001

Coming Soon!

2000

Coming Soon!

Historic

March 2-5, 1966: Severe Blizzard Summary
March 2-5, 1966: Storm Data

Extreme Heat & Cold

The following summaries cover "significant" or widespread high heat or extreme cold. Dangerous wind chills and life threatening heat indices can be found in these summaries. If the extreme temperatures were associated with a summer or winter storm, it may be found under the "Thunderstorms & Tornadoes" or "Winter" sections. These events tend to more "rare" compared to others and have not been broken into yearly sections.

January 29-31st, 2019: Extreme Cold Outbreak across the Central U.S.

Other Events

The following summaries cover events that don't fall under the other categories - such as high wind events (not associated with thunderstorms). Other atmospheric events, such as auroras, may be found here.

August 13th, 2017: Heavy Rain Event for Ransom, Sargent, and Richland counties
June 28th, 2017: Heavy Rain Event for Grand Forks-East Grand Forks area
March 23rd, 2017: Small Hail Event
June 14th/15th, 2016: Rain Event
June 1st, 2016: Rainfall Totals
November 15th, 2015: Rainfall Totals
October 23rd, 2015: Rainfall Totals
October 11th, 2015: Strong Synoptic Winds and Record Heat
July 28th, 2015: Anomalous High Wind Event
May 17th-18th, 2015: Heavy Rain Totals
May 10th-12th, 2015: Rain Totals
April 19th-20th, 2015: Rain Totals
October 13th-16th, 2013: Heavy Rain in southern Red River Valley
October 7th, 2011: Rare Strong Southerly Wind Event
June 25th-26th, 2011: Rainfall Over the Weekend
October 26th, 2008: Strong Post-Frontal Wind Gusts
August 11th-12th, 2008: Heavy Rain Event for Wahpeton-Breckenridge area

Seasonal Summaries

Comparing the 2021-2022 Winter Season Blizzards to Years Past
Winter 2014-2015
Spring 2012: A Warm Start to the Spring
Summer 2010: An active storm season due to El Nino conditions
Winter 2008-2009
Fall 2008: Wet fall season slows harvest, contributes to Spring 2009 Flood