What the record says
On 4 July 1978, a tornado touched down near Elgin, North Dakota. The Storm Prediction Center records its path as 26 miles long and up to 250 yards wide, rated F4 on the Fujita (F) scale. It killed 5 people and injured 35.
- F4Fujita rating
- 5deaths
- 35injuries
- 26 mipath length
- 250 ydmaximum width
It has its own page because it was rated 4 or 5 and it killed three or more people.
This page gives the official record's figures. Numbers of deaths and injuries are sometimes revised after a survey, and they cannot convey what the day was like for the people who lived through it.
Counties it crossed
The start point was at 46.40, -101.88 and the end point at 46.40, -101.33 (latitude, longitude).
How to read this path
The Storm Prediction Center records most tornadoes as a straight line from the point where they touched down to the point where they lifted. The real path usually curved and was not the same width all the way along. The width given is the widest part. Older records are less precise, and the record starts in 1950.
Source: the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database, public domain.
Other notable tornadoes in North Dakota
- Fargo, North Dakota tornado20 June 1957, F5, 10 deaths, 103 injuries, 52.4 miles long
- Enderlin, North Dakota tornado20 June 2025, EF5, 3 deaths, 12.1 miles long
- Solen, North Dakota tornado29 May 1953, F5, 2 deaths, 20 injuries, 14.8 miles long
- Walcott, North Dakota tornado2 July 1955, F4, 2 deaths, 19 injuries, 9.1 miles long
- Venturia, North Dakota tornado31 July 1966, F3, 2 deaths, 4 injuries, 26.4 miles long
- New England, North Dakota tornado29 June 1975, F4, 1 death, 4 injuries, 68 miles long
Other notable tornadoes of 1978
- Lyndon, Kansas tornado17 June 1978, F1, 16 deaths, 3 injuries, 7.3 miles long
- Rhodes, Iowa tornado16 September 1978, F3, 6 deaths, 45 injuries, 31.8 miles long
- Monticello, Mississippi tornado18 April 1978, F4, 4 deaths, 31 injuries, 19.1 miles long
- Gary, Minnesota tornado5 July 1978, F2, 4 deaths, 44 injuries, 57.5 miles long
- Westmoreland, Kansas tornado31 May 1978, F3, 3 deaths, 1 injury, 37 miles long
All tornadoes of 1978 · North Dakota tornado history · All notable tornadoes