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Cover photo is a screenshot of footage from Hannah Deigel's Ring Doorbell camera. The video shows the mesocyclone approaching Enderlin, ND.
Moon Retzer | News | December
During the months between March and August, the United States sees its fair share of severe thunderstorms. North Dakota (ND) had some severe weather conditions over the course of this past summer. Hurricane-like winds, inches of rain, and tornadoes all occurred over the summer break; but one tornado in particular has piqued in headlines around the country and even had storm chasers rejoicing at the “end of a drought”. This tornado was the Enderlin tornado, in Cass County ND.
This summer, North Dakota experienced a record breaking amount of tornadoes, 80 were confirmed according to KFYR-TV. The average number of tornadoes in ND each year is anywhere between 29-32. This sudden uptick in the amount of tornadoes has been a cause for concern for many North Dakota residents.
Along with these record breaking amounts of tornadoes, ND also received a deathly rating on one tornado in Enderlin.
All tornadoes receive a rating, the ratings ranging to an EF0 and EF5. EF0s and EF1s make up the vast majority of tornadoes within the United States. These tornadoes are considered the weakest, doing minimal damage to trees, crops, and mobile homes.
On June 15, 2025, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) released a six day outlook. This outlook showed a potential for severe weather in the northern parts of the U.S.. On June 20, the SPC noticed that these storms were entering a favorable environment and posed a greater risk for severe weather.
Before hitting Enderlin on June 20, the northern part of the storm was dropping a significant amount of tornadoes. In areas where no tornadoes formed, severe winds, thunder, and rain were dumped on towns and open fields.
At 11:02 p.m., the southern part of the storm had a tornado touch down south of Enderlin, ND. As it moved northeast, the tornado intensified, devastating homes, farms, and train cars. While five train cars were completely thrown off the track, 28 remained tipped over and derailed. Along with that damage, well built factories and garages were completely wiped off their foundations. This tornado even caused a path that is visible in satellite images.
A satilite image of the path the tornado took.
Photo sourced by European Union
A photo of the tornado itself.
Photo taken by Celton Henderson and Jack Delves.
At first, the Enderlin tornado was rated as an EF3, but this was just a surface level rating. Unlike hurricanes, where they are categorized by their wind speed, so much more goes into rating tornadoes. Estimated wind speed and the damage the tornado caused to structures, vegetation, and other objects all go into the rating of a tornado. Residents had to wait until a more accurate rating was announced. This tornado followed a 12.10 mile path and was 1.05 miles wide.
After detailing excessive damage, on October 6, 2025, the Enderlin tornado was upgraded from an EF3 to an EF5, the strongest possible rating, from the National Weather Service of Grand Forks. This EF5 is the first of its kind in over 12 years.
When surveying damage, researchers looked at the train cars the most. In all, 33 cars were derailed, 19 were filled with grain, weighing up to 286,000 lbs. The rest were empty but still weighed 72,000 lbs. Four cars were tossed into the open field, another one even being tossed almost 1,000ft into the air and landing about 500 ft away. The remaining tipped over cars, some filled, some not, stayed tipped in the grass while their wheels remained on the tracks. In order to do this kind of damage, the winds had to have been 266 mph or higher to throw a tank car according to The Northern Tornadoes Project. This damage was considered EF5 worthy.
A photo of the tornado itself.
Photo taken by Celton Henderson and Jack Delves.
This rating of an EF5 is significant because it’s the first EF5 Tornado in 12 years. Even though this tornado did not hit many structures and mostly went over open fields, the damage that was caused was devastating. Trees were pulled from to roots, houses were swept away, and crops were decimated.
Many storm chasers on the internet have rejoiced at the fact that the “drought is over” and that an EF5 tornado has finally occurred after the Moore, Oklahoma EF5 in 2013.
As excited as some people are about this “drought” being over, three people still had their lives taken as a result of this tornado: Michael and Katherine Dehn (73) and Maracrio Lucio (89) were all in their homes at the time the tornado hit. It is unclear if they had taken shelter or were sleeping at the time the tornado destroyed their homes.
Sheriff Jesse Jauner of Cass County released a statement stating, “The Cass County Sheriff’s Office extends its heartfelt sympathies to the victims’ families, the community of Enderlin, and all other communities affected by this weekend’s tragic storm.”
About The Writer: Moon Retzer, Editor-in-Chief
Moon Retzer is one of two Editor-in-Chiefs of the 2025-2026 Courier Staff. They have been writing for The Courier for 3 years. In addition to being the Editor-in-Chief, Moon is also the editor for the Arts and Entertainment section. Moon's favorite articles to write are Opinion and Feature pieces.
Moon Retzer is one of two Editor-in-Chiefs of the 2025-2026 Courier Staff. They have been writing for The Courier for 3 years. In addition to being the Editor-in-Chief, Moon is also the editor for the Arts and Entertainment section. Moon's favorite articles to write are Opinion and Feature pieces.
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