Mercer County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 ND GS (2,536).

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. Aug 15, 2014Flood$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Upwards of nine inches of rain in parts of western Mercer County led to very significant overland flooding. There was also flooding along the Knife River, Spring Creek, and their tributaries. Water was added to the Knife River system not only from rain in Mercer County but rain in Dunn County as well. There was significant damage to roads and crops. Officials estimated damage to at least 90 residences. Damage occurred to storm sewer and sanitary sewer systems. A county emergency declaration was issued.

2. Jan 9, 1997Blizzard, Mercer$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   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 in the central. But the strong winds combined with this snow as well as the snow from the blizzard a few days earlier created widespread whiteout conditions that lasted for 3 days. There were numerous communities that halted mail delivery and cancelled school. In Emmons Co. every road was blocked by drifts, some as high as 18 feet. In McLean Co. there was a drift at…

3. Apr 4, 1997Blizzard, Mercer$1.5 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…

4. Mar 21, 1997Flood, Mercer$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Warm weather toward the end of March lead to rapid snow melt across southcentral North Dakota. This in turn lead to flooding across much of the area. Near the confluence of Spring Creek and the Knife River, the town of Beulah(Mercer Co) had 150 families evacuated. Sewer lines backed up when the lift stations failed. Up to 4 feet of water flooded streets and lawns. Also in Mercer Co. 1 person was injured when he drove over a section of road that the Knife River washed out. Along the Cannonball River in Hettinger Co., 50 families in the town of Mott were evacuated. In Grant Co., 20 residents along the Cannonball River had to be evacuated. 1 farmer reported losing 50 hogs due to the…

5. Aug 1, 2023Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   In the Beulah Bay area, two homes had parts of their roofs torn off, large trees were uprooted, manufactured homes were damaged, and multiple campers and boats on trailers were flipped. At Hazen Bay, campers were flipped and trees uprooted. Significant crop damage was also observed throughout this area and surrounding areas, with many fields appearing completely flattened suffering total crop loss.

6. Mar 6, 2009Flood$553,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Spring Creek and the Knife River flooded due to snow melt and ice jams. The Knife, through Beulah, did significant damage to structures. Overland flooding damaged county and township roads. Fifty five homes were flooded. Flooding continued into April.

7. Jun 20, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Homes were damaged with shingles and siding blown off.

8. Jun 2, 2011Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   See the event episode narrative for details.

9. Jun 28, 2018Thunderstorm Wind$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense microburst occurred at this location with estimated 130 mph winds. Every building on the property was severely damaged or destroyed. The home suffered severe damage with the roof being torn off and the back wall blown out. Four people were inside the home and sought shelter in the basement, uninjured. Large diameter trees were snapped. Crops were also damaged.

10. Aug 24, 2006Hail$350,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Damage to vehicles, roofs, and windows. Five Mercer County Sheriff vehicles damaged.

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

108°FAug 7, 1949

All-time low

−48°FJan 16, 2009

Warmest night

79°FJun 9, 1985

Coldest day

−26°F2 times, most recently Feb 2, 1996

Wettest day

4.35 inJun 7, 1999

Snowiest day

15.0 in3 times, most recently Apr 14, 2022

Hottest year

1987mean 44.6°F

Coldest year

1951mean 35.8°F

Wettest year

201328.00 in

Driest year

19888.42 in

Snowiest season

94.5 in2010-11

Station Garrison (USC00323376), 1,932 ft elevation, 27.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 19, 2026; 95.7% 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 USC00323376.
• 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.