Traill County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Traill 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 (522), USGS MN (136).

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 17, 1997Flood, Traill$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Red River was reported to be 10 miles wide as it reached Traill county. The river set a new record stage at Halstad on the 19th.

2. Apr 5, 1997Blizzard, Traill$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   With falling temperatures on the back side of the low, the freezing rain turned to ice pellets and then to snow. A strong pressure gradient created winds up to 65 mph, dropping visibilities down to 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 resulted in $30 million in damages just to the power infrastructure. A 2,060 foot television tower collapsed near Galesburg on April 5th. With power cut, many people had to seek shelters with generator power in order to keep warm. Some smaller communities were without power for more than a week. Most…

3. Apr 4, 1997Ice Storm, Traill$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense low pressure system, with center pressures around 28.8 inches, tracked from Fergus Falls to International Falls, Minnesota. The initial rain was accompanied by lightning and thunder in southern Grand Forks county, and then changed to freezing rain as the temperature dropped. One-half to 2 inches 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 reporting systems on the AWOS and ASOS sites across eastern North Dakota froze in place, remaining out for 7 days. The three inches of liquid equivalent from the…

4. Aug 8, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A Davis system measured a 110 mph wind gust with sustained winds at 100 mph. 2,400 trees were blown down along with 23 miles of powerline. 27 National Guard members were called in to help the community. Road and business signs were folded over by the wind and some windows in town were blown in. 25 percent of the 200 homes in town were damaged. The courthouse dome was damaged and the local government communications tower was blown over. A 12x40 foot warehouse was blown down with its contents scattered. Minor damage occurred to 2 motorhomes in the city's westside RV park and campground. Several semi trucks were flipped over along Interstate 29 on the west edge of town.

5. Jul 11, 2017Tornado$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This multi-vortex tornado was wrapped in rain and hail for much of its path. It crossed Interstate 29 just north of the Taft elevators, then dove south-southeast to a point roughly 2.5 east-northeast of Hillsboro, where it curled to the northeast. The tornado snapped trees and destroyed several farm buildings along its path. Peak winds were estimated at 135 mph.

6. Apr 7, 2001Flood, Traill$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS cooperative observers reported nearly 2.5 inches snow water content in the snowpack, after a winter with above average snowfall. A heavy rainfall event on the 7th of April brought 1 to 2 inches of rain to the Red River basin, adding to the snowmelt flooding. The Red River crested at Halstad at 38.47 feet on April 16th and remained near the crest level for nearly a week. This level was the 5th highest crest on record. An ice jam developed at the Nielsville bridge over the Red River on April 7th, and threatened to severely damage the bridge. About 200 yards of ice and logs dammed up behind the bridge, and it took several large backhoes to clear the jam.

7. Apr 3, 1997Flood, Traill$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snowmelt caused rapid rises in the Goose River, especially in the Mayville and Hillsboro areas.

8. Jul 11, 2017Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado developed from the main mesocyclone as its predecessor roped out. It crossed the Red River and continued for another 5 miles in Minnesota, before ending around four miles east-southeast of Halstad at 711 pm CST. This tornado snapped H-pole power poles, crushed steel grain bins, snapped numerous oak and ash trees, and toppled a barn along its path. Peak winds were estimated at 130 mph.

9. Sep 21, 2019Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Streets, low spots, rivers, and basements were flooded by 4 to 9 inches of rain over a short duration of time. Cars that got stuck in the flood waters were abandoned where they stalled. Farm fields and access roads were also flooded.

10. Jun 14, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The wind gust was measured at the Mayville Airport. The winds caused a three thousand gallon water tank to buckle.

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, 31.4 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.