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Watford City, North Dakota

6 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1978. It stands in Watford City City. It lies in ZIP code area 58854. The Survey maps it on the Watford City quadrangle. 6,207 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,119 feet above sea level.

Watford City within McKenzie County

Population over time

2 figures

Watford City grew from 1,744 to 6,207 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.

YearPeople Change
20101,744
20206,207+4,463 (+256%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 6 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.

Fires near this place

44 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 44 fires within 5 miles of Watford City between 2007 and 2020, burning about 78 acres in total. 4 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
Equipment and vehicle use16
Fireworks10
Missing data/not specified/undetermined6
Debris and open burning4
Natural4
Smoking2
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Recreation and ceremony1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
8 September 2018Naturalunder an acreNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceBALE 1
6 September 2013Debris and open burning1.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest Service0RTONVILLE
23 September 2012Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNorth Dakota State Forest Service22M FIRE
1 September 2013Fireworksunder an acreNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceMBI MANCAMP
26 August 2020Equipment and vehicle use5.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceCHICKEN AND CORN
21 August 2016Fireworks29 acresNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceGUN RANGE
2 August 2019Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest Service125TH AVE
2 August 2016Smoking1.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceMM310

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in McKenzie 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 Watford City: 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Norstag PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in McKenzie County

Storms near this place

60 of 78 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Watford City in 78 storm reports between 1995 and 2024: 37 hail, 34 thunderstorm wind, 4 funnel cloud, 3 tornado. The reports record 1 death and 38 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2018Tornado (EF2)Watford City1 killed, 28 hurt, $3,500,000About 135 people were displaced from their homes. One fatality occurred and 28 people were injured, about 13 of them seriously. Based on the damage the tornado was rated EF2 and from that winds were estimated to have been around 127 mph.||This tornado developed just to the west of a large recreational vehicle, camper, and mobile home park on the southwest side of Watford City. The tornado passed through the park causing extensive and severe damage to over 100 recreational vehicles, campers, and single wide manufactured homes. Power poles were snapped and other non-occupied buildings were damaged and some destroyed, including a well-built pole barn. Many vehicles were damaged, some totaled.
May 2014Tornado (EF2)Watford City9 hurt, $2,500,000Thirteen campers, serving as homes, were completely destroyed and two more were damaged by this tornado. Other damage included a snapped wooden power line pole, automobiles, and fences, both wooden and metal. One automobile was tossed sixty feet and flipped onto its roof, with a trailer parked next to its initial location also flipped and completely destroyed. About a dozen other vehicles were damage, some destroyed. Eye witness reports indicated two other funnel clouds in the immediate area.||Of all the damage surveyed by the National Weather Service the absolute worst corresponded to EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. From that it was determined that the peak wind speeds in the tornado were on the order of 120 mph. ||There were nine direct injuries.
July 2000HailWatford City1 hurtOne person injured at a horse ranch at the north unit of the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindWatford City$250,000Two trailers of around 50 feet in length were turned over one mile north of Watford City. One trailer was moved 150 feet. In the Watford City area, a pole barn was destroyed. The debris from the barn was lifted and thrown a thousand feet.
June 2016HailWatford City$250,000no account filed
June 2016HailWatford City$150,000no account filed
July 1999Thunderstorm WindWatford City$100,000Light to moderate damage to homes and business. Numerous uprooted trees and power lines.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindWatford City$25,000A dual-axle camper was destroyed. Another building nearby suffered some damage.
June 2016HailWatford City$15,000no account filed
September 1996HailWatford City$10,000no account filed
August 2021HailWatford City$7,000A pickup truck was damaged by the hail.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindWatford City$5,000Large cottonwood tree branches were blown down.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindWatford City$5,000Severe thunderstorm winds resulted in broken tree branches.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindWatford City$5,000tree fell on car
July 2020Thunderstorm WindWatford City$2,000A chicken coop was damaged.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindWatford City-Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated by a trained spotter.
June 2019Funnel CloudWatford City-Several brief funnel clouds were observed in the area.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindWatford City-A trained spotter reported that their trampoline was moved and their cars were shaking due to the strong thunderstorm wind gusts.
May 2018Funnel CloudWatford City-Several funnel clouds were reported in the vicinity of Watford City.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindWatford City-Law enforcement estimated thunderstorm wind gusts of 70 mph.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindWatford City-A trained spotter estimated that thunderstorm winds were gusting to 60 mph.
July 2013HailWatford City-There were no reports of damage with this very large hail report.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindWatford City-Estimated winds of 60 mph were reported.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindWatford City-Thunderstorm winds were accompanied by large hail.
June 2007HailWatford City-No damage reported.
August 2006HailWatford City-Occurred at the north end of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Also had 2 inches of rain.
June 2005HailWatford City-Also strong winds during event.
July 2001Thunderstorm WindWatford City-Numerous tree damage in city of Watford City.
July 2001Tornado (F0)Watford City-Brief touchdown in open country.
June 1999HailWatford City-three-quarter inch hail covered the ground between 1/2 inch to 1 inch depth.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindWatford City-no account filed
June 2024Thunderstorm WindWatford City-no account filed
August 2024Thunderstorm WindWatford City-no account filed
August 2023HailWatford City-no account filed
August 2022Thunderstorm WindWatford City-no account filed
June 2022HailWatford City-no account filed
June 2021Thunderstorm WindWatford City-no account filed
July 2021Thunderstorm WindWatford City-no account filed
June 2020Funnel CloudWatford City-no account filed
August 2019HailWatford City-no account filed
September 2019HailWatford City-no account filed
July 2018HailWatford City-no account filed
July 2018HailWatford City-no account filed
July 2018HailWatford City-no account filed
July 2018Thunderstorm WindWatford City-no account filed
June 2018Thunderstorm WindWatford City-no account filed
June 2018HailWatford City-no account filed
June 2017HailWatford City-no account filed
July 2017HailWatford City-no account filed
July 2017HailWatford City-no account filed
July 2017Thunderstorm WindWatford City-no account filed
June 2016Thunderstorm WindWatford City-no account filed
June 2016HailWatford City-no account filed
June 2016Thunderstorm WindWatford City-no account filed
June 2016Funnel CloudWatford City-no account filed
August 2016HailWatford City-no account filed
June 2015Thunderstorm WindWatford City-no account filed
July 2014HailWatford City-no account filed
May 2014HailWatford City-no account filed
May 2014HailWatford City-no account filed

Every storm recorded in McKenzie 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.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Schafer5.1 miles7
Arnegard8.4 miles6
Rawson13.7 miles6
Banks17.0 miles8
Johnsons Corner18.1 miles8
Croff18.5 miles8
Alexander19.3 miles7
Keene20.0 miles8

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 Watford CityAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1998384The 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 1032701. 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.