Foster County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
The chance of earthquake damage in Foster County is about the same as North Dakota average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Foster County is much lower than North Dakota average and is much lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #23
| Foster County | 0.00 |
| North Dakota | 0.00 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| Foster County | 0.0000 |
| North Dakota | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #44
| Foster County | 0.00 |
| North Dakota | 81.79 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 5,435 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Foster County were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 74 | Cold: | 64 | Dense Fog: | 0 | Drought: | 4 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 393 | Hail: | 2,944 | Heat: | 2 | Heavy Snow: | 53 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 9 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 68 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 1,548 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 6 | Winter Storm: | 89 | Winter Weather: | 6 |
| Other: | 175 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Foster County.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Foster County.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Foster County.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 24 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Foster County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 9.8 | 1972-07-29 | 2 | 47°34'N / 98°47'W | 47°36'N / 98°44'W | 2.30 Miles | 20 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Foster |
| 21.5 | 1974-07-11 | 2 | 47°41'N / 99°12'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Eddy | |||
| 23.7 | 2004-05-19 | 2 | 47°35'N / 98°26'W | 47°36'N / 98°22'W | 3.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Griggs |
| Brief Description: A pole barn was blown into some trees, a machine shed was demolished, and major tree damage occurred with this tornado. Members of a family were in a farm yard watching this tornado develop, and rushed to their basement just before the tornado hit. | |||||||||||
| 24.9 | 1968-08-23 | 3 | 47°09'N / 98°28'W | 47°14'N / 98°35'W | 7.40 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Stutsman |
| 27.0 | 1974-08-14 | 2 | 47°09'N / 98°34'W | 47°14'N / 98°21'W | 11.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Stutsman |
| 28.0 | 2001-07-18 | 3 | 47°41'N / 98°27'W | 47°43'N / 98°19'W | 5.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 200K | 0 | Nelson |
| Brief Description: A tornado hit the home of the Nelson county sheriff, who was out of town at the time. The tornado tore the roof off the house and destroyed the barn. A piece of farm machinery was thrown through the bedroom wall and a tractor was hurled 75 yards. The sheriff's squad car was crushed. | |||||||||||
| 29.3 | 1968-08-23 | 3 | 47°08'N / 98°28'W | 47°09'N / 98°28'W | 1.10 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Barnes |
| 31.6 | 1986-06-15 | 2 | 47°19'N / 98°14'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Griggs | |
| 31.9 | 1952-06-15 | 3 | 47°24'N / 99°33'W | 1.70 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Wells | |
| 34.8 | 1957-07-16 | 3 | 47°15'N / 98°12'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Griggs | |||
| 34.8 | 1952-07-24 | 2 | 47°00'N / 98°40'W | 47°00'N / 98°30'W | 7.30 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Stutsman |
| 37.2 | 1986-06-15 | 2 | 47°16'N / 98°08'W | 0.10 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Griggs | |
| 38.3 | 1974-08-14 | 2 | 47°11'N / 98°10'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Barnes | |||
| 38.6 | 2001-07-17 | 2 | 47°05'N / 99°25'W | 46°53'N / 99°10'W | 20.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 0 | Stutsman |
| Brief Description: The tornado moved southeast out of Kidder county. Numerous sources reported the tornado ranged to 1/2 mile wide at times. The tornado was on the ground for 66 minutes with a total storm path of 29 miles. The tornado remained in open country flattening a total of 64 metal and double high power line towers. | |||||||||||
| 40.1 | 1987-07-21 | 3 | 47°38'N / 98°03'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Griggs | |
| 40.3 | 2002-08-11 | 4 | 46°57'N / 99°18'W | 46°58'N / 99°18'W | 1.00 Mile | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 650K | 0 | Stutsman |
| Brief Description: The tornado formed 5 miles north of Medina, over open country, traveling slowly to the north...northeast. One farmstead was totally destroyed and the second farmstead suffered moderate damage. No injuries were reported but a family pet was killed. Other damage reported was a 9 ton grain truck moved 250 feet and destroyed, three other vehicles moved 150 to 250 feet and heavily damaged, and a farm tractor picked up and laid on top a farm pickup truck. Also destroyed were 5 transmission towers with a cost replacement of $200 thousand. The tornado was rated by National Weather Service Storm Survey Team. | |||||||||||
| 41.5 | 1974-05-20 | 2 | 47°56'N / 99°25'W | 47°59'N / 99°21'W | 3.80 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Benson |
| 41.8 | 2001-08-08 | 2 | 48°00'N / 99°35'W | 47°55'N / 99°12'W | 7.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 50K | 0 | Benson |
| Brief Description: The tornado began northwest of Maddock and travelled along a path intermittently to near Flora and near Oberon. A 40x60 foot metal shed was demolished. About 2 miles northeast of Maddock, a grain bin was pulled from its foundation and thrown about 500 yards. A hopper bin and concrete pad were also turned on end at this location. Many large trees were flattened all along the path until the tornado weakened from Flora to near Oberon. | |||||||||||
| 42.0 | 2001-07-17 | 2 | 47°08'N / 99°40'W | 47°04'N / 99°31'W | 10.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 1.0M | 0 | Kidder |
| Brief Description: Tornado reported to be 1/2 mile wide at times. The tornado remained in open country before entering into Stutsman county. Damage was contained to metal and double poled high power line towers. A farmstead in the path of the tornado sustained $200,000 in damage. (see Stutsman county report on same tornado.) | |||||||||||
| 42.8 | 1976-06-12 | 2 | 48°05'N / 98°50'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Ramsey | |||
| 43.8 | 1960-08-02 | 2 | 46°54'N / 99°18'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Stutsman | |||
| 43.9 | 1966-08-05 | 2 | 48°06'N / 98°54'W | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Ramsey | |||
| 45.7 | 1965-09-04 | 2 | 47°10'N / 98°00'W | 0.50 Mile | 17 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Barnes | |
| 47.0 | 2001-08-08 | 2 | 47°59'N / 99°33'W | 47°58'N / 99°32'W | 2.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 300K | 0 | Benson |
| Brief Description: A grain elevator was heavily damaged and will likely be shut down for the rest of the year. Many trees were uprooted and a camper was overturned. 1.5 miles of powerline was blown down with 24 poles snapped. | |||||||||||
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.