On September 14, 2025, North Dakota was hit by a historic outbreak of tornadoes, with 18 tornadoes being reported on a single day, breaking previous records and placing the state at the minimum of 73 tornadoes per year. This was an unprecedented weather phenomenon because it surpassed the year before record of 61 tornadoes of 1999 and the outbreak was close to a year of normal tornado occurrences in a single day.
Record-breaking tornado activity documented
September 14, 2025, was a violent, record-breaking weather day in central North Dakota. Published reports indicate that a total of 20 tornado reports were received by NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center in the Dakotas, with 18 in North Dakota, according to DTN Progressive Farmer. This was a rare and stunning event; in the past 30 years, since 1995, only 15 tornadoes had been reported in September in North Dakota.
Typically, the state sees its largest number of tornadoes in June. North Dakota averages 22 tornadoes for an entire year, so this mid-September outbreak was almost an entire year’s worth of tornado activity in just one day. The North Dakota yearly tornado record is also being rewritten. The former record was 61 tornadoes, set in 1999. That record is now up toย at least 73, according to the Bismarck office of the National Weather Service.
Extreme weather conditions converge
In addition to the tornado outbreak, heavy rain and flash flooding occurred in the storm event. Bismarck’s NWS office logged a new record rainfall total for Sept. 14 of 2.44 inches, far above the old record of 1.5 inches set back in 1900. This tornado outbreak has several trigger points that came together in mid-September.
Sustained warmth and moisture moved into the northwestern Plains during early to mid-September. Warm days and nights were noted; Central North Dakota had overnight low temperatures in the mid-60s Fahrenheit, either matching or breaking minimum temperature records. Regarding moisture, NWS Bismarck forecast comments on Sept. 14 noted that the atmospheric detail identified asย “precipitable water” was eitherย near or at its maximum climatological value.
Pacific Ocean influence suspected
Besides the warmth and humidity, an unstable atmospheric pattern meant the build-up of strong storms was possible. “Storm mode could be messy given the strong mid to upper-level forcing and lack of a well-defined surface or low-level boundary,” the 5 a.m. (CDT) Bismarck NWS forecast discussion noted.
This late-summer/early-fall outbreak also raises the question of whether a very warm North Pacific Ocean boosted the tornado potential by adding to the amount of atmospheric energy in the Northern Plains. Those Pacific conditions are warm, running from 1-4 degrees Celsius or almost 2-7 degrees F above average across the entire North Pacific as of mid-September.
Climate patterns under investigation
Studies of tornado outbreaks have found that warm ocean regions can enhance storm potential by contributing warm and moist air. Tornadoes are localized and inconsistent. Nonetheless, this outbreak and its timing will no doubt be studied closely, with the ocean temperatures and atmospheric patterns as prime features.
An intense storm that swept across central North Dakota on Sunday moved the state past a previous record for tornadoes in a year, according to the Bismarck Tribune. The September 14 outbreak documented significantย damage across the regionย as meteorologists continue analyzing the unprecedented weather event.
The September 14 tornado outbreak is one of the watershed events in the history of meteorology in North Dakota which illustrates how various atmospheric conditions can collide to produce some phenomenal weather. Increase in climate patterns may have an effect on the intensity of storms, so this record day will probably become an important case study in explaining the dynamics of severe weather in the Northern Plains. The incident highlights how the weather can be unpredictable and how it is gaining force.