Sutton, ND Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Sutton is about the same as North Dakota average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Sutton is higher than North Dakota average and is lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #180
| Sutton, ND | 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
| Sutton, ND | 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, #139
| Sutton, ND | 96.69 |
| 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 1,691 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Sutton, ND 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: | 18 | Cold: | 15 | Dense Fog: | 0 | Drought: | 0 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 106 | Hail: | 987 | Heat: | 0 | Heavy Snow: | 17 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 1 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 15 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 459 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 1 | Winter Storm: | 31 | Winter Weather: | 3 |
| Other: | 38 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Sutton, ND.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Sutton, ND.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Sutton, ND.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 30 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Sutton, ND.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 11.4 | 1986-06-15 | 2 | 47°19'N / 98°14'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Griggs | |
| 13.1 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 14.7 | 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 |
| 15.2 | 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 |
| 15.5 | 1957-07-16 | 3 | 47°15'N / 98°12'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Griggs | |||
| 17.2 | 1986-06-15 | 2 | 47°16'N / 98°08'W | 0.10 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Griggs | |
| 18.1 | 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 |
| 19.3 | 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 |
| 19.9 | 1974-08-14 | 2 | 47°11'N / 98°10'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Barnes | |||
| 20.6 | 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. | |||||||||||
| 24.2 | 1987-07-21 | 3 | 47°38'N / 98°03'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Griggs | |
| 25.9 | 1971-06-21 | 2 | 47°30'N / 98°01'W | 47°25'N / 97°46'W | 12.70 Miles | 77 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Griggs |
| 26.4 | 1965-09-04 | 2 | 47°10'N / 98°00'W | 0.50 Mile | 17 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Barnes | |
| 28.5 | 1971-06-21 | 3 | 47°31'N / 97°56'W | 47°22'N / 97°44'W | 13.70 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Steele |
| 28.7 | 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 |
| 30.1 | 1976-06-12 | 2 | 47°22'N / 97°48'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Steele | |||
| 31.0 | 2010-06-17 | 2 | 47°18'N / 97°46'W | 47°24'N / 97°48'W | 7.00 Miles | 75 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Steele |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado tracked northward for nearly 7 miles, to around 1 mile north of Blabon. The tornado produced severe tree damage in field and farm shelterbelts located along its path. Rear flank downdraft winds also produced tree damage at the Hope golf course. Peak winds were estimated at 120 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Conditions were ripe by the afternoon of the 17th for a major severe weather outbreak. A surface low had moved into east central North Dakota with an occluded front extending to the southeast. Warm and humid air was in place ahead of the front, with a much drier airmass pushing in behind it. The 500mb low was located over northwest North Dakota with a nice southwest to northeast upper jet pushing into eastern North Dakota. Two lines of convection formed by late afternoon, one from Roseau County down toward Eastern Otter Tail County and the other over east central North Dakota. Nearly all the cells that formed took on a classic hook shape with rotation very evident on radar imagery. Multiple tornado warnings were issued before the event wound down by mid evening. The strongest tornadoes were determined to be EF4 tornadoes, two in west central Minnesota and one in northeast North Dakota. | |||||||||||
| 34.7 | 1955-08-03 | 2 | 47°00'N / 98°00'W | 1.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Barnes | |
| 34.7 | 1965-06-26 | 2 | 47°00'N / 98°00'W | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Barnes | |||
| 36.4 | 2007-08-26 | 3 | 47°45'N / 97°55'W | 47°49'N / 97°53'W | 5.00 Miles | 580 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Nelson |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado continued into western Grand Forks County, where it dissipated 3 miles west-northwest of Logan Center at 716 pm CST. The total tornado track was about 6 miles long, with about 5 miles of this total occurring in Nelson County. The tornado destroyed a garage and farm outbuildings at 3 farmsteads. It killed 5 buffalo and completely dismantled a swathing combine. Trees were also snapped off or uprooted along the damage path and several empty metal grain bins were torn from their anchors and demolished. Gravel roads were deeply scarred by debris. Peak winds were estimated at 150 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A cold front moved across North Dakota on the 26th, with a hot and humid airmass in place ahead of the front. At 6 pm CST, a surface low was located over southern Manitoba (Canada), just north of Pembina, ND. The cold front stretched to the southwest, back toward Devils Lake (ND) and Bismarck (ND). Ahead of the cold front, temperatures ranged in the low to mid 80s with dew points around 70F. Behind the front, temperatures did not cool significantly, but dew points dropped to the mid 40s. Thunderstorms began to form along and ahead of the cold front by early evening (from northeast ND into south central ND), eventually crossing into northwest Minnesota several hours later. Eight distinct tornadoes occurred over northeast North Dakota and northwest Minnesota during this event. | |||||||||||
| 39.9 | 2010-06-17 | 2 | 47°21'N / 97°37'W | 47°21'N / 97°34'W | 3.00 Miles | 75 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Steele |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado tracked northeastward for nearly 3 miles to around 8 miles east-northeast of Hope. Numerous trees were severely damaged in shelterbelts. An abandoned farmhouse was collapsed and other farm buildings were damaged. Peak winds were estimated at 125 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Conditions were ripe by the afternoon of the 17th for a major severe weather outbreak. A surface low had moved into east central North Dakota with an occluded front extending to the southeast. Warm and humid air was in place ahead of the front, with a much drier airmass pushing in behind it. The 500mb low was located over northwest North Dakota with a nice southwest to northeast upper jet pushing into eastern North Dakota. Two lines of convection formed by late afternoon, one from Roseau County down toward Eastern Otter Tail County and the other over east central North Dakota. Nearly all the cells that formed took on a classic hook shape with rotation very evident on radar imagery. Multiple tornado warnings were issued before the event wound down by mid evening. The strongest tornadoes were determined to be EF4 tornadoes, two in west central Minnesota and one in northeast North Dakota. | |||||||||||
| 40.0 | 2007-08-26 | 3 | 47°49'N / 97°52'W | 47°50'N / 97°50'W | 1.00 Mile | 580 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Grand Forks |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: This tornado began about 6 miles north-northeast of Aneta in eastern Nelson County at 704 pm CST. The total tornado track was about 6 miles, with about 1 mile of it occurring in Grand Forks County. The tornado lofted and destroyed a second combine in Grand Forks County before it lifted. Peak winds were estimated at 150 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A cold front moved across North Dakota on the 26th, with a hot and humid airmass in place ahead of the front. At 6 pm CST, a surface low was located over southern Manitoba (Canada), just north of Pembina, ND. The cold front stretched to the southwest, back toward Devils Lake (ND) and Bismarck (ND). Ahead of the cold front, temperatures ranged in the low to mid 80s with dew points around 70F. Behind the front, temperatures did not cool significantly, but dew points dropped to the mid 40s. Thunderstorms began to form along and ahead of the cold front by early evening (from northeast ND into south central ND), eventually crossing into northwest Minnesota several hours later. Eight distinct tornadoes occurred over northeast North Dakota and northwest Minnesota during this event. | |||||||||||
| 40.3 | 1974-07-11 | 2 | 47°41'N / 99°12'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Eddy | |||
| 40.5 | 1958-09-06 | 3 | 46°54'N / 98°00'W | 2.90 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Barnes | |
| 43.7 | 2004-07-18 | 2 | 47°41'N / 97°36'W | 47°41'N / 97°36'W | 3.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Steele |
| Brief Description: The tornado tore the roof off a barn and impaled a tree branch in the wooden door of a granary. Many trees were damaged and a high voltage power tower was knocked over. The tornado tracked mainly along the Goose River (about 4 miles west of Hatton) to about 4 miles south-southwest of Hatton. | |||||||||||
| 46.7 | 2007-08-26 | 4 | 47°43'N / 97°36'W | 47°44'N / 97°31'W | 5.00 Miles | 1400 Yards | 1 | 18 | 50.0M | 2.0M | Grand Forks |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado touched down about 2 miles west-southwest of Northwood. The tornado crossed the Goose River about a mile west-southwest of the Northwood airport and left a 200 yard wide stretch of downed trees in its wake. By the time it hit the airport, the ground track was one-third of a mile wide and growing wider. At this point the tornado was still visible outside the increasingly heavy rain. The tornado reached an incredible width of eight-tenths of a mile as it pushed through Northwood to the east-northeast. At this point it had multiple vortices embedded in the overall wedge shaped tornado. The strongest of these vortices appears to have scoured the ground and left broad circulation patterns of debris in the overall damage and debris field. Around this time the tornado likely became wrapped in heavy rain and would have been difficult to observe from a distance. The most extreme damage appeared to be in the northeast corner of the community. Northwood, in southwest Grand Forks County, had a population of about 1000 people. 90 percent of the roughly 460 homes were damaged. One death occurred in a mobile home, with 18 other injuries reported. The death occurred in a trailer park on the north edge of town, where 19 total units were demolished. Just to the east of the trailer park, in the area that sustained the extreme damage, three businesses were hit particularly hard. An agricultural company, the towns largest employer, had its buildings heavily damaged. A nearby construction company lost two large steel buildings and other equipment. Steel beams from the two steel buildings were twisted and tossed nearby. Finally, a car dealership lost 15 to 20 vehicles from its parking lot along highway 15. Many of these vehicles were damaged beyond recognition and tossed into nearby fields. One corn field to the north of highway 15 (across from the 3 businesses on the northeast side of town) had it stalks snapped off several inches from the root bases, with pieces of husked corn laying around. Hangers and airplanes were also damaged at the airport. The local health center, school, supermarket, and grain elevator were damaged. Near the elevator, several rail cars were knocked off the tracks. Hundreds of trees were snapped, uprooted, or damaged. Power was also knocked out to many customers, but eventually was turned off (for safety reasons) to the entire town. A total of about 2600 truckloads of debris were hauled to the town landfill. In the days following the tornado, a Presidential Disaster Declaration was granted. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A cold front moved across North Dakota on the 26th, with a hot and humid airmass in place ahead of the front. At 6 pm CST, a surface low was located over southern Manitoba (Canada), just north of Pembina, ND. The cold front stretched to the southwest, back toward Devils Lake (ND) and Bismarck (ND). Ahead of the cold front, temperatures ranged in the low to mid 80s with dew points around 70F. Behind the front, temperatures did not cool significantly, but dew points dropped to the mid 40s. Thunderstorms began to form along and ahead of the cold front by early evening (from northeast ND into south central ND), eventually crossing into northwest Minnesota several hours later. Eight distinct tornadoes occurred over northeast North Dakota and northwest Minnesota during this event. | |||||||||||
| 48.4 | 1950-06-13 | 3 | 46°48'N / 97°55'W | 2.00 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Cass | |
| 48.5 | 2004-07-18 | 2 | 46°59'N / 97°40'W | 46°56'N / 97°37'W | 4.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 0 | Cass |
| Brief Description: The tornado knocked down high voltage power lines and three metal towers north of Tower City. Several farm buildings were also damaged northeast of Tower City. | |||||||||||
| 49.2 | 2004-07-18 | 4 | 46°47'N / 98°23'W | 46°36'N / 98°23'W | 10.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 1.7M | 100K | Barnes |
| Brief Description: The tornado tracked south for about 4 miles along 97th avenue southeast, then turned to the southeast and tracked about 6 more miles before it crossed into LaMoure county about 2 miles north-northwest of Marion. One abandoned farmstead 10 miles west-northwest of Litchville was nearly swept clean of its buildings. Eight to nine buildings and 5 to 6 metal grain bins were swept away. At an occupied farmstead about 9 miles west of Litchville, the most damage was reported. The family was out baling hay at the time and were not hurt. The equipment they used to bale hay (three tractors and a baler) were the only things left unscathed by the tornado. Two houses, 5 outbuildings, a cattle barn, and miscellaneous farm equipment were all leveled. Machinery and debris were scattered across the yard and in the nearby pond and fields. A new pickup truck was demolished and sheet metal and metal support beams were wrapped around trees and vehicles. About 35 cows were killed, 20 grain bins were demolished, and a semi truck was overturned. The last F4 tornado in eastern North Dakota occurred on June 6, 1999, near Mountain, ND. | |||||||||||
| 49.4 | 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. | |||||||||||
* 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.