A tornado that ripped through southeastern North Dakota in the summer has been placed into the EF5 category, the strongest of tornado classifications, as winds topped 200 mph (322 kph). The twister is the first EF5 on United States soil in 12 years, meteorologists confirmed Monday.
The Enderlin twister of June 20 resulted in three deaths and major damage. At its biggest size, the tornado was 1.05 miles (1.7 kilometers) wide and left a path on the prairie that went for a little more than 12 miles (19 kilometers). National Weather Service meteorologists at the Grand Forks office estimated the winds of the twister hit 210 mph (338 kph), according to the Associated Press. (RELATED: China Slammed By Powerful Typhoon Matmo Triggering Terrifying Scenes, Mass Evacuations)
The record for the strongest winds ever was in 1999 when Oklahoma’s Bridge Creek-Moore tornado clocked in at 321 mph (517 kph).
🌪️ BREAKING: A 12-year EF5 tornado drought ended Monday morning with the NWS in Grand Forks, North Dakota, announcing that a twister in Enderlin on June 20 had winds greater than 210 mph, classifying it as a monster EF5 tornado, the highest rating possible.… pic.twitter.com/yB5mtdNJ3l
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) October 6, 2025
In 2007, the National Weather Service (NWS) started using Enhanced Fujita Scale, and since then, there have been a total of 10 EF5 tornadoes. The 12-year drought without an EF5 twister is the longest since the NWS began record-keeping in 1950.
As a result of the tornado, farmsteads were destroyed, fully loaded rail cars were tipped over, transmission towers were toppled and trees were uprooted. The Grand Forks-based NWS meteorologists assessed the damage on site the next morning.
It normally takes days or weeks to determine the strength of a tornado, with meteorologists having to study building and tree damage. This particular twister took longer than normal due to the bizarre damage that was done to rail cars, including one that was tossed far from the others. Originally, the Enderlin tornado was classified as an EF3.