Kempton, North Dakota

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1936 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Avon Township. It lies in ZIP code area 58267. The Survey maps it on the Kempton quadrangle.

Kempton within Grand Forks County

On record in Kempton

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 1 record

Carlott Funseth Round Barnlisted 1986

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 11 printed sheets

Matched 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.

1936 USGS Larimore quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
1952 USGS Grand Forks quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
1956 USGS Grand Forks quadrangle1:250000
1963 USGS Kempton quadrangle1:24000
1966 USGS Grand Forks quadrangle1:250000
1985 USGS Grand Forks quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings

Fires near this place

4 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Kempton between 2005 and 2017, burning about 167 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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	2
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1
Arson/incendiarism	1

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
4 August 2005	Debris and open burning	160 acres	North Dakota State Forest Service	not named
7 July 2017	Debris and open burning	1.0 acres	North Dakota State Forest Service	2017-34
26 June 2016	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	North Dakota State Forest Service	28
14 April 2017	Arson/incendiarism	5.0 acres	North Dakota State Forest Service	2017-21

Every fire recorded in Grand Forks County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Kempton: 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
	Hegge Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer

Every working recorded in Grand Forks County

Storms near this place

15 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Kempton in 15 storm reports between 2003 and 2025: 8 tornado, 3 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. 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
July 2017	Tornado (EF1)	Kempton	$2,000	This tornado was partially rain wrapped along its track. The tornado broke down large branches and snapped a few tree trunks in shelterbelts along its path. Peak winds were estimated at 90 mph.
August 2021	Tornado (EF1)	Kempton	$1,000	A few cottonwood trees were snapped or uprooted in a shelterbelt. A brief tornado touchdown is expected based on radar imagery.
August 2025	Tornado (EF1)	Kempton	-	This rain wrapped QLCS tornado developed about 4 miles east of the community of Kempton or 5.5 miles northeast of Northwood where it initially caused crop damage, seen via high resolution satellite. As it tracked east, it tipped over an irrigation pivot system, and caused EF-1 damage to trees along shelterbelts. It also caused EF1 tree damage and minor damage to a property as it turned northeast. It then finally produced more crop damage based on high resolution satellite before lifting. Peak wind speed is estimated at 100 mph.
August 2025	Tornado (EF0)	Kempton	-	This QLCS tornado was very brief with damage confined to one field producing EF-0 damage. The sunflowers were flattened in a very short concentric and convergent path. TDS observed on radar. Time estimated from KMVX radar. Max wind speed estimated at 70 mph.
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Kempton	-	Numerous trees were blown down in shelter belts and homesteads in Arvilla and Avon Townships. A small greenhouse was destroyed. Several trees fell on a home, severely damaging the roof. Report and photos received via social media, with time based on radar.
July 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Kempton	-	Received a public report of an estimated 60 to 70 mph gust.
June 2018	Tornado (EF1)	Kempton	-	A brief tornado initiated to the north of a bowing section of squall line as it moved into Avon Township. Extreme tree damage was noted along its path and three cattle trailers were overthrown at a farmstead. Peak winds were estimated at 95 mph.
July 2017	Hail	Kempton	-	Dime to ping pong ball sized hail fell, but not a lot of rain.
July 2014	Tornado (EF1)	Kempton	-	This tornado tracked intermittently for about eight miles before ending about two miles south-southeast of Arvilla. The tornado snarled trees in shelterbelts and broke down numerous large tree branches, limbs, and whole tree trunks along its path. A few rural residences and farm buildings had shingles torn off, quonset doors ripped off, and outbuildings damaged. Peak winds were estimated at 90 mph.
June 2012	Tornado (EF0)	Kempton	-	This long, thin, and rope like tornado lasted for just a couple of minutes. It tracked eastward for about one mile, nearly to the Avon and Pleasant View township line. Numerous large branches were knocked down in a farmstead shelterbelt and a couple of large tree limbs were snapped off in a field shelterbelt. Peak winds were estimated at 70 mph.
August 2011	Heavy Rain	Kempton	-	The observer reported 1.82 inches of rain over a two hour period.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Kempton	-	A large 18 inch diameter pine tree was snapped off.
June 2010	Tornado (EF0)	Kempton	-	This tornado tracked eastward for about a seven mile intermittent path. The tornado was viewed by aircraft and ground based observers from multiple directions. A few large tree limbs were downed in shelterbelts though the tornado was mostly over open fields. Peak winds were estimated at 80 mph.
August 2007	Hail	Kempton	-	no account filed
June 2003	Hail	Kempton	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Grand Forks County

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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Larimore	6.1 miles	11
Northwood	6.4 miles	8
Hannah Junction	7.9 miles	11
Arvilla	9.4 miles	15
Logan Center	10.9 miles	10
Shawnee	11.9 miles	10
McCanna	13.9 miles	8
Emerado	14.9 miles	16

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1029727. 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.