Fargo tornado
Clockwise from top: The Fargo Tornado seen from east of the N.D.A.C Memorial Student Union Building; a track map of the Fargo Tornado made by Ted Fujita; An aerial view of Golden Ridge after the tornado. | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | June 20, 1957 6:40 p.m. CDT (UTC−06:00) |
| Dissipated | June 20, 1957 7:01 p.m. CDT (UTC−06:00) |
| Duration | 21 minutes |
| F5 tornado | |
| on the Fujita scale | |
| Max width | 500 yd (460 m) |
| Path length | 9 mi (14 km) |
| Highest winds | >275 mph (443 km/h) |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | 12 |
| Injuries | 103 |
| Damage | $25.3 million (1957 USD) $288.4 million (2026 USD) |
| Areas affected | Cass County, North Dakota, especially Fargo, and Clay County, Minnesota, especially Moorhead |
Part of the Tornadoes of 1957 and the Tornado outbreak sequence of June 20–23, 1957 | |
During the late afternoon and evening hours of June 20, 1957, a violent, "long lived" (it was later confirmed that it was a tornado family) and deadly F5 tornado, commonly known as the Fargo tornado, struck the north side of Fargo, North Dakota as well as the area north of Moorhead, Minnesota. It was part of a family of five devastating tornadoes produced by one supercell over the course of 3.5 hours, although they are listed as one continuous tornado. The tornado family started in North Dakota, traveled 27.4 miles (44.1 km) to the Minnesota border before crossing it and continuing for another 25 miles (40 km) for a total track length of 52.4 miles (84.3 km), with the tornado itself travelling 9 miles (14 km). Additionally, at its widest point, the damage swath reached 500 yards (460 m) across. A total of 12 people were killed, making it the deadliest tornado in North Dakota history. Meanwhile, 103 others were injured, and damage was estimated at $25.25 million (1957 USD). It was part of a larger outbreak sequence of 23 tornadoes that affected the Midwest and Great Plains. It was the most recent tornado in North Dakota to be rated F5/EF5 until the Enderlin tornado exactly 68 years later on June 20, 2025.