While North Dakota sees an average of about 23 tornadoes a year, fatalities are rare, National Weather Service data indicates. The last tornado to claim three or more lives in the state was a July 4, 1978, storm that killed five people in Elgin. It was recorded as an F4.

Three people are dead and a regional airport has been heavily damaged after powerful winds including a tornado swept across the upper U.S. Midwest.

The severe storms caused significant damage to homes and infrastructure in several parts of eastern North Dakota.