Moorhead, Minnesota
25 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1895 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Moorhead City. It lies in ZIP code area 56560. The Survey maps it on the Fargo South quadrangle. 44,505 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 899 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Moorhead
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 12 records
Burnham Buildinglisted 1980
Solomon Gilman Comstock Houselisted 1974
Fairmont Creamery Companylisted 1983
Federal Courthouse and Post Officelisted 1980
Lew A. Huntoon Houselisted 1980
Main Building, Concordia Collegelisted 1980
Park Elementary Schoollisted 1988
St. John the Divine Episcopal Churchlisted 1980- John Bergquist Houselisted 1980
- Frederick Martin Hotellisted 2025
- Moorhead Storage and Transfer Company Warehouselisted 2020
- Randolph M. Probstfield Houselisted 1980
Population over time
2 figuresMoorhead grew from 38,065 to 44,505 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 38,065 | |
| 2020 | 44,505 | +6,440 (+17%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 25 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1895 USGS Fargo quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1897 USGS Fargo quadrangle1:125000, 12 printings
- 1953 USGS Fargo quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Fargo quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Fargo South quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1985 USGS Fargo quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1989 USGS Fargo quadrangle1:250000
Fires near this place
5 since 2015Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 5 fires within 5 miles of Moorhead between 2015 and 2020, burning about 9 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 3 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 July 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | 38 ST S DITCH FIRE |
| 9 July 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | 64TH AVE. N. & 25TH ST. N. FARGO |
| 31 March 2017 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | 100096 |
| 15 March 2015 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Detroit Lakes Wetland Management District | COUNTY 141 |
| 10 November 2020 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | North Dakota State Forest Service | 25 ST FIELD FIRE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Moorhead: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olness Pit and Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
60 of 69 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Moorhead in 69 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 26 hail, 25 thunderstorm wind, 14 flash flood, 2 flood. The reports record 2 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | 2 hurt, $10,000 | The wind blew over a semi truck, injuring the two occupants inside. One had a broken collar bone. |
| September 2007 | Hail | Moorhead | $10,000,000 | The large hail left small 3 inch craters on lawns. Many vehicles and homes were damaged. |
| June 2000 | Flash Flood | Moorhead | $5,000,000 | Training thunderstorms dumped waves of rainfall across the Moorhead area. The official Moorhead NWS observer reported 7.31 inches of rain. This is believed to be a new 24 hour rainfall record for the Fargo-Moorhead area. The heavy rain halted traffic, inundated storm sewers, and knocked out electricity and phone service. One electrical substation in Moorhead failed when the water rose high enough to cause it to short out. |
| May 2011 | Tornado (EF1) | Moorhead | $250,000 | This tornado tracked north-northeastward along the eastern edge of Moorhead and was likely enshrouded in downburst winds and heavy rain. A few wooden power poles were snapped and numerous trees were uprooted or snapped. Some mature trees were thrown more than 100 feet. Peak winds were estimated at 105 mph. |
| May 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | $100,000 | Numerous residential fences were blown down and garage doors blown in. |
| June 1998 | Flash Flood | Moorhead | $100,000 | Over 3 inches of rain fell in less than three hours, causing rapid flooding problems in Moorhead. |
| May 2002 | Flash Flood | Moorhead | $50,000 | Street flooding was reported. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | $20,000 | Trees, signs, and power lines were downed around the Moorhead area as the strong winds came through. |
| July 2019 | Flash Flood | Moorhead | $10,000 | Two to four inches of rain quickly flooded low lying areas around town. |
| July 2011 | Flash Flood | Moorhead | $10,000 | Two to three inches of rain in less than an hour caused extensive street flooding. Several roads were impassable. |
| June 1998 | Lightning | Moorhead | $10,000 | A house for sale in Moorhead was struck by lightning, igniting a fire. |
| September 2014 | Flash Flood | Moorhead | $5,000 | Streets were flooded in south Moorhead. |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | $1,000 | Trees were blown down, some fell across roads. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | Broadcast Media reports 50 - 60 MPH wind gusts in Moorhead. |
| April 2023 | Flood | Moorhead | - | Fargo - Crest of 29.76 ft occurred on 4/22. |
| May 2023 | Flood | Moorhead | - | Fargo - Crest of 29.76 ft occurred on 4/22. Flooding began in April. (Crest noted in April Storm Data). |
| August 2023 | Flash Flood | Moorhead | - | Public reports stranded vehicles in Moorhead due to flooded roadways. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | A trained weather spotter reported an estimated wind gust to 70 mph in Moorhead. A few power outages were reported nearby. |
| August 2022 | Hail | Moorhead | - | Hail near Highway 10, on the eastern edge of Moorhead. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | Large tree branches and limbs broken down on vehicles. Report and photos posted via social media. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | Several large tree branches were snapped. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | Trees were snapped in south Moorhead. |
| September 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | A personal weather station measured a 75 mph wind gust before it broke. The station was near Interstate 94 and 34th street. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | Tree damage was reported. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | Several small trees and large tree branches were blown down. |
| August 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | Widespread power outages were reported from north Fargo into Moorhead. |
| August 2016 | Hail | Moorhead | - | Pea to quarter size hail fell in north Moorhead. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | The wind speeds were estimated. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | A large tree branch blew down and blocked several lanes of traffic. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | A semi truck was blown over along Interstate 94 at mile marker six. |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | A large tree was blown down in Moorhead. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | The wind gust was estimated at 60 mph at the intersection of 34th Street and 7th Avenue Northeast in Moorhead with 1/2 mile visibility and torrential rain. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | The strong winds knocked down power lines and large trees 1.5 to 2 feet in diameter. Several sections of wooden fencing were blown down near U.S. Highway 75. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | Several large trees were knocked down by winds near the Minnesota State University Moorhead campus. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | The wind gust was measured by a Davis Weather system. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | The wind gust occurred just north of Interstate 94 at mile marker five. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | Trees were blown down, causing power outages. A large steel sign was bent in half, onto the roof of a business. |
| May 2007 | Flash Flood | Moorhead | - | Streets were flooded in the city of Moorhead. At the Moorhead Airport, taxiways and runways were also flooded. |
| June 2005 | Flash Flood | Moorhead | - | The official National Weather Service cooperative observer reported 2.40 inches of rain in a short period of time. Many streets and underpasses were flooded. Several people had to be pulled out of flooded roads. |
| September 2005 | Hail | Moorhead | - | Dime to quarter sized hail fell. |
| August 2005 | Flash Flood | Moorhead | - | Street flooding occurred near Concordia College and U.S. Highway 75. |
| June 2003 | Flash Flood | Moorhead | - | Street flooding was reported in south Moorhead. |
| June 2003 | Flash Flood | Moorhead | - | Slow moving thunderstorms dropped 2 to 4 inches of rain in 10 minutes. The water rose as high as car tires on 30th Avenue South. |
| June 2003 | Hail | Moorhead | - | The hail occurred over downtown Moorhead. |
| June 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | Trees were blown down and power outages were reported. |
| May 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Moorhead | - | A 84 mph wind gust was measured at a MN DOT RWIS site. |
| June 2002 | Flash Flood | Moorhead | - | Interstate 94 was flooded at mile point 2. Many streets in the Village Green area were flooded and some were closed by high water levels. |
| September 2000 | Flash Flood | Moorhead | - | Streets and underpasses were flooded and some vehicles were stranded. |
| September 2019 | Hail | Moorhead | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Hail | Moorhead | - | no account filed |
| August 2008 | Hail | Moorhead | - | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Moorhead | - | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Moorhead | - | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Moorhead | - | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Moorhead | - | no account filed |
| September 2007 | Hail | Moorhead | - | no account filed |
| September 2005 | Hail | Moorhead | - | no account filed |
| September 2005 | Hail | Moorhead | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Moorhead | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Moorhead | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Moorhead | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q983754 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 648070. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.






