Bismarck

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Burleigh County, the county that contains Bismarck.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Burleigh County, the county that contains Bismarck.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Burleigh County, the county that contains Bismarck.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Landslides mapped in Burleigh County.

Mapped by ND GS (316).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jun 9, 2001Hail$113 million
2. Jul 21, 2005Hail$93.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Nickel size to tennis ball size hail combined with 70 mph winds caused extensive and widespread damage in Bismarck. The larger hail fell on the north side of the city where most of the damage occurred. Numerous homes and vehicles damaged. There was damage to siding and roofs, and windows were broken. Property damage estimates were provided by the North Dakota Insurance Commissioner.

3. Jun 17, 2016Hail$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A severe thunderstorm struck northern portions of the city of Bismarck around 4:30 AM CDT. Large hail combined with strong wind gusts to cause substantial damage. The largest hail with a diameter of 3.25 inches fell near Legacy High School. Winds of 75 mph combined with large hail to cause a swath of substantial damage from along Divide Avenue in north Bismarck to approximately five miles north of the city of Bismarck. Siding, roofs, and windows were damaged on homes. Multiple car dealerships sustained hail damage, which included the largest dealership in the city.

4. Jun 2, 2011Flood$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   See the event episode narrative for details.

5. Jul 29, 2024Hail$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A slow moving thunderstorm developed to the south of Mandan and rapidly strengthened as it moved into Burleigh County. The storm then gradually moved to the east-southeast passing over Lincoln. This storm caused extensive damage to developments to the south of Bismarck and throughout the Lincoln area. Most locations initially experienced hail ranging from one to two inches in diameter, but as the storm approached Lincoln hail increased to baseball size. In addition, one mile to the south of Lincoln a hailstone was measured at 4.5 inches in diameter.

6. Aug 13, 2024Flash Flood$8.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Torrential downpours with between two and five inches of rain moved through the Bismarck area as a very slow moving thunderstorm passed over. Storm sewer and drainage systems in the city were overwhelmed by the intense rain rates. Many downtown businesses took on water, resulting in damaged inventory along with business losses due to inaccessibility and time taken to recover. One of the primary medical centers in the downtown area had water pouring in from two side streets that damaged an MRI machine. The city of Bismarck government services also suffered significant damage. Many homes and apartment complexes sustained water damage, particularly in basements.

7. Jun 20, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Straight line winds pushed through the Copper Ridge subdivision south of Lincoln, and caused extensive damage. Several home were severely damaged, with large sections of shingles blown off roofs, some roof sheathing blown off, blown in garage doors, extensive siding damage, and removed decking. Several detached garage and smaller shop buildings experienced similar damage, with one experiencing its side wall being blown out. A large shop building was completely destroyed with the damage blowing across the road into the neighbors property. One injury occurred when a male was outdoors chasing his sunglasses that were blown away in the wind when an airborne rafter struck him in the…

8. May 16, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$3.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   As the storm moved into the Bismarck area...the NWS at the airport received a gust to 79 mph. A small plane was tipped over at the airport, with part of the airport terminal roof blown off. There was at least 1 mobile home that was destroyed. Significant damage was done to trees, buildings and road signs. An estimated 3000 people in Bismarck lost power. The Melroe Co. had its roof lifted off. Property damage estimated.

9. Apr 4, 1997Blizzard, Burleigh$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   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 coming down from Canada. The result was the worst blizzard of the season for North Dakota, bringing much of the state to a complete halt. The precipitation began to fall during the afternoon of the 4th (Friday), as rain in the east and freezing rain or sleet in the west. By Friday evening the freezing rain and sleet had changed over to all snow in the west. By…

10. Apr 2, 2010Winter Storm, Burleigh$2.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Five to twelve inches of heavy wet snow and sleet fell across Burleigh County. The combination of strong winds and the wet snow resulted in damages to electrical utilities, causing power outages across the county. In some areas it took several days to restore power. Preliminary damage assessments estimated there was around two million dollars in damage from this storm for Burleigh County. Western portions of the county were hit the hardest.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

112°FJul 30, 2006

All-time low

−44°F2 times, most recently Jan 15, 2009

Warmest night

76°FAug 28, 1991

Coldest day

−26°FFeb 1, 1996

Wettest day

4.63 inAug 21, 1998

Snowiest day

17.3 inApr 14, 2013

Hottest year

2021mean 47.5°F

Coldest year

1951mean 36.9°F

Wettest year

201929.58 in

Driest year

20208.42 in

Snowiest season

101.6 in1996-97

Station Bismarck (USW00024011), 1,755 ft elevation, 3.0 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 27, 2026; 100.0% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Burleigh County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00024011.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.