Marshall County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Marshall County: 0.
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.

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

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.

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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by USGS MN (75), ND GS (8).

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. Apr 19, 1997Flood, West Marshall$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   As the Red River crested in Oslo on the 23rd, the city was surrounded by water. The ring dike held together, keeping the city dry. Floodwaters from the Snake River flooded the city of Warren on the 19th, causing problems to one-third of the town. A new record was set on the Snake River at Alvarado on the 20th. Two North Dakota residents were missing in the Stephen area, where they were attempting to find a way across the Red River. So far, only their vehicle has been found. They were travelling around road closed signs.

2. Apr 5, 1997Blizzard, West Marshall$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   With falling temperatures on the back side of the low, the freezing rain changed to snow. A strong pressure gradient created winds up to 65 mph, dropping visibilities down to near zero. The strong wind, on top of heavy ice accumulations, caused thousands of power poles to snap. This cut power to over 100,000 people in eastern North Dakota and northwest Minnesota and caused $30 million in damages to the power infrastructure. With no heat, many people had to seek shelters with generator power. Some smaller communities were without power for more than a week. Snowfall totals on the 6th ranged around 7 inches. Three men from China slid off a road 3 miles south of Borup into a…

3. Apr 4, 1997Ice Storm, West Marshall$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense low pressure system, with center pressures around 28.8 inches, tracked from Fergus Falls to International Falls. The initial rain was accompanied by thunder and lightning in Polk county, and then changed to freezing rain as the temperature fell. One-half to one inch of ice built up on exposed surfaces. Hundreds of power poles and lines snapped due to the weight of the ice, cutting power to many homes and businesses, many of which were beginning to fight the spring flood. The wind equipment froze up on ASOS and AWOS units across northwest Minnesota, and remained frozen for 7 days. The 3 inches of liquid equivalent from the storm fell on top of a record snowpack.

4. Apr 4, 1997Ice Storm, East Marshall$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense low pressure system, with center pressures around 28.8 inches, tracked from Fergus Falls to International Falls. The initial rain was accompanied by thunder and lightning in Polk county, and then changed to freezing rain as the temperature fell. One-half to one inch of ice built up on exposed surfaces. Hundreds of power poles and lines snapped due to the weight of the ice, cutting power to many homes and businesses, many of which were beginning to fight the spring flood. The wind equipment froze up on ASOS and AWOS units across northwest Minnesota, and remained frozen for 7 days. The 3 inches of liquid equivalent from the storm fell on top of a record snowpack.

5. Apr 1, 2006Flood$1.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Red River at Oslo rose above flood stage around 1 AM CST on April 1st and remained above flood stage until around 10 AM CST on April 26th. The river peaked at roughly 37.70 feet around 8 PM CST on April 6th. Unofficially, 37.70 feet would be the fourth highest modern-day river stage recorded. The highest modern-day river stage of 11.16 feet (unofficial) was recorded on the Snake River at Alvarado on April 2nd. The Red River spread well out of it banks from around Oslo northward, essentially becoming a lake. Overland flooding also occurred in addition to the river flooding, with many roads around the county closed due to flooding. The ring-diked town of Oslo was completely…

6. May 5, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Straight-line winds hit Middle River, causing roof and tree damage. Several grain bins and barns were destroyed and the front of a building blew off and landed on a pickup truck. A window was also blown out of a trailer.

7. Apr 7, 2001Flood, West Marshall$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The winter brought a good amount of snow to the northern Red River Valley, which resulted in snow water contents of 1.5 to 2.5 inches. The northern Red River Valley received less snow than the southern valley, which resulted in the snow cover disappearing faster over the north than further south. A heavy rain event on the 7th brought widespread 1 to 2 inch rainfall amounts to the entire Red River basin. Another heavy rain event over the southern Red River basin on the 11th and 12th, and a winter storm that dropped a foot of snow over the southern Red River basin, helped hold the Red River level at Oslo near 37 feet from April 13th to 17th. This river crest was close to the 5th highest ever.

8. Jul 17, 2020Tornado$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado was partially embedded in downburst winds and heavy rain. It tracked through one farmyard and across the town of Argyle, and ended about 1 mile east of town. Grain bins were crumpled, trees snapped, and shingles torn off roofs. In Argyle, a tall grain bin was caved in and its top conveyor was torn off at the elevator complex, and the bleachers were tossed at the baseball field.

9. Jul 14, 1999Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado lifted the roof off a warehouse, depositing it nearly 2 miles away to the southeast. A 6-ton truck was also pushed nearly 150 yards.

10. May 17, 1996Flash Flood$100,000

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

104°F2 times, most recently Jul 5, 1988

All-time low

−43°FJan 30, 2004

Warmest night

77°F4 times, most recently Jun 20, 2023

Coldest day

−27°FFeb 1, 1996

Wettest day

4.44 inJul 16, 1995

Snowiest day

17.0 inMar 4, 1966

Hottest year

2024mean 45.2°F

Coldest year

1950mean 34.5°F

Wettest year

201928.11 in

Driest year

196310.65 in

Snowiest season

96.4 in1996-97

Station Grand Forks International Airport (USW00014916), 838 ft elevation, 39.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1941 to October 26, 2026; 99.1% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USW00014916.
• 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.