The worst one was an F5 tornado that hit Fort Rice, North Dakota, destroying multiple structures and causing the majority of the casualties that day.
An unusually strong surface low-pressure system moved into northwestern South Dakota during the afternoon of May 29, 1953.
A dryline extended from this strong low southward ahead of a cold front that curled southwestward while a warm front extended east-northeastward into the Coteau des Prairies of southeastern North Dakota Behind the surface low, an upper-level low moved northeastward through Montana, increasing the pressure gradient over the Northern Plains and inducing high wind shear across the area.
Temperatures that afternoon reached anywhere from the upper 80s to mid-90s and with dew points from 60 to 70 °F, the atmosphere was ripe for an outbreak of severe thunderstorms.
[2][3] The tornado, which was over 3/4 of a mile in width, struck Fort Rice, destroying 16 homes and leveling a church.