F5 Tornado Destroys The Town of Fort Rice May 29, 1953

Overview

On May 29th, 1953, a tornado touched down 8 miles north of Solen (Morton County) and traveled 20 miles northeast lifting in (Emmons County) with a path width of 600 yards. The tornado strengthened to F5 (260-318 MPH winds) as it tore into the small town of Fort Rice, ND around 8pm. Most of the town was leveled, including the Conception Catholic Church, where pews were jammed four feet into the ground, the General store, half the school, 16 homes destroyed and 14 damaged, and car parts carried half a mile. Most of the damage was west of the river. The tornado killed a women eight miles north of Solen and another in Fort Rice. Additionally, 20 people were injured and transported by train to the hospitals in Mandan and Bismarck.

Front page of the May 29th, 1953 Bismarck Tribune showing the damage to the Conception Catholic Church in Fort Rice.

(Bismarck Tribune)

The remains of the Fort Rice bar. The man ran outside to hug a fence post to prevent being blown away as the tornado hit.

(Bismarck Tribune)

Half of the Fort Rice School was destroyed.

(Bismarck Tribune)

The American Red Cross set up a disaster relief headquarters to assist the town.

(Bismarck Tribune)

Tornado
Environment

Tornado:

Tornado - Fort Rice, ND
Morton County

Date	May 29, 1953
Time (Local)	8:00pm
F Rating	F-5
Est. Peak Winds	260-318 MPH
Path Length	20 mi
Max Width	600 yds
Injuries/Deaths	20 injured/2 killed
Summary: Formed 8 miles north of Solen in Morton County and lifted in northern Emmons County across the Missouri River.

Note: Prior to 1971 the Fujita scale (F) was used to assess tornado damage, now we use the Enhanced Fujita scale (EF).

Track Map

Environment:

Daily Weather Map. May 29, 1953

(NOAA Central Library)