Moisture is definitely one of the important ingredients in raising crops of any kind. When and in what manner this moisture arrives may very well make a difference in whether the harvest is bountiful or a complete failure.
Along with the summer rain, many times the conditions are such that the area is hit with hail and some damage from lightning that may come with these summer thunderstorms.
August 15, 1907:
Hail hits northern part of county. Reports came in from the Barlow area and extended south and east as far as Henry Ewen farm 10 miles east of Carrington, Buchanan and sons were said to have lost 1700 acres out of 1800 acres in the storm.
September 19, 1915:
Hail hits area three miles wide and four miles long north and east of Carrington. The storm lasted for about an hour dropping hailstones the size of walnuts. Foot drifts along the buildings could still be seen the next day. Loss of livestock and chickens were reported. Halaas and sons reported 2,000 acres lost.
July 16, 1914:
Hailstorm that lasted 15 minutes cut a path three miles wide, destroying crops, windows and other damage to buildings. Estimated damage was $400,000.
July 2, 1957:
Crops never looked better around the Carrington area, and the community had considered itself fortunate to have escaped the summer storms, and then it happened.
At about 4:45 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, Carrington was in the midst of a severe hail and windstorm that left a path of destruction about 9 miles wide and extending for an undetermined distance east and west. The storm came up from the west, and when it hit Carrington light rain first fell, this followed by hail, which battered away at crops, trees, gardens and buildings for five lurid minutes. With the hail came a high velocity wind and a rainfall estimated at near two inches.
An appraisal of the storm damage was begun by local citizens as soon as the storm subsided. They found trees blown down; power lines were down; some roofs were badly damaged; almost every building had broken windows on the west side, some buildings suffering heavy glass loss; gardens were leveled, and fruit trees were left devoid of fruit.
And on investigating outside the city limits, it was a sickening sight, for the crops were leveled by the hailstorm. Field after field suffered total loss. The storm covered an area from about four miles south of Carrington to 4 to 5 miles north. In the immediate Carrington area the farm buildings were not damaged to any great extent, although some grain bins were crushed and carried away.
The lush crops looked as though they had been mowed with a mower. Even the straw was gone with just a short stubble remaining. Wheat and barley were the heaviest losses with some damage to the flax. The storm was known to have extended far past the eastern boundary of Foster County.
August 3, 1979:
About 90,000 Foster County cropland acres lost 75 to 80% total crop loss. Hail stones the size of golf balls and some the size of baseballs fell down doing the damage. Winds up to 60 miles an hour. The storm lasted about 15 minutes.
August 3, 1980:
A storm cut a path across the county hitting some area with 100% loss. A flash flood occurred in Carrington. Damage was done to windows, buildings, and vehicles.
Source: A History of Foster County 1983 Page 74