Deadly Derecho Devastates North Dakota, Causing $11.5 Million in Damage

Over the past week, the central and northern Great Plains experienced yet another example of how powerful and destructive derechos can be. According to Prairie Public News, North Dakota was battered by a massive storm system on June 20 and 21, which produced more than 20 tornadoes as well as a significant derecho that swept across the state with straight-line winds. The resulting widespread windstorm left four people dead, knocked out power for over 37,000 customers, and caused extensive destruction to homes, grain bins, businesses, and thousands of trees. The preliminary damage is being assessed at $11.5 million, with the hardest-hit counties—Oliver, Cass, Barnes, and Stutsman—collectively accounting for the majority of the losses.

North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong has officially requested a presidential disaster declaration in hopes of securing FEMA disaster assistance for affected communities. Armstrong compared this storm event to nothing North Dakotans have seen in recent history, emphasizing both the severity and unusual nature of such a violent, long-tracked windstorm so far north this late in the summer.

These incredibly intense thunderstorms organized into a bow echo—a hallmark feature of derechos—which blasted across eastern Montana into the Dakotas and brought high winds that toppled trees, stripped roofs, and collapsed dozens of large farm structures. Weather briefings released by Nutrien Ag Solutions discussed how the line of damaging storms evolved rapidly overnight, and further severe wind threats remain a possibility this week as similar weather patterns persist across northern plains states.

Derechos are particularly dangerous because they develop quickly and travel across huge distances with little advance warning. As Houston’s Defender Network noted in a preparedness update, officials are urging people nationwide to be prepared for these no-notice events along with hurricanes and sudden flooding since derechos give little or no warning and can have devastating impacts on regional power and transportation infrastructure.

Meteorologists are actively monitoring for continued instability in the atmosphere across the Midwest and Upper Plains, with guidance from the latest high-resolution forecast models suggesting more significant wind damage could occur as similar storm system structures form in upcoming days.

Thank you for tuning in for this update on recent widespread windstorm activity in the United States. Be sure to come back next week for more weather insights and news. This has been a Quiet Please production—visit Quiet Please Dot A I for more.

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