Western/Central North Dakota
A few cities include: Bismarck, Minot and Williston.
Local tornado season: Most tornado activity occurs between June and July.
Terrain: Prairies, hills, some forests; Missouri River bisects.
Road network: Good in many areas with some gaps.
Radar coverage: Good in central North Dakota, limited farther west.
Western/central North Dakota may be outside of the heart of tornado alley, but it can and does occasionally produce tornadoes. Large hail with supercells is more common here, especially when favorable wind shear overlaps with a moist low-level environment in the summer. With or without tornadoes, photogenic storms across the unique terrain can make storm chasing the area very rewarding.
Terrain
Even though North Dakota is one of the flattest states, the terrain becomes increasingly rough with westward extent. The land around and east of the Missouri River in central North Dakota is mostly prairie. This may be the best place to storm chase, as there are few terrain obstructions.
The Missouri River expands in size, into Lake Sakakewea, in western North Dakota. From here, westward to the Williston area, high water levels in some seasons can leave some roads impassable. Be sure to either check road conditions ahead of time or have backup routes planned in advance. Hilly, more forested terrain is common from west-central to southwestern North Dakota. Buttes and badlands make up much of the terrain, offering a bit of a challenging for storm chasers venturing there.
Road network
The road network from central into northwestern North Dakota is mostly favorable for storm chasing. Here, the road network is mostly gridded with only a few gaps in coverage. To the southwest, near the Missouri River and especially across southwestern North Dakota, the road network is more limited. The area south of ND-200 and east of US-85, eastward to the Missouri River, has a relatively consistent road network.
Once you approach the Montana border, as the terrain becomes rougher, gaps in the road network become more prevalent. Interstate-94 is the only freeway in the area and it runs in a relatively straight line from Bismarck, westward to Montana.
Radar coverage
Some portions of western North Dakota have limited radar coverage. While KBIS and KMBX solidly cover central North Dakota, they do not reach into much of western North Dakota. There are workarounds, as the North Dakota Water Commission has radar sites in Bowman and Stanley. This data may not be up to par with the National Weather Service sites, but it can help fill in some of the gaps.
In summary, western/central North Dakota can be storm chased, but it is not without some obstacles. The more chaser-friendly prairies of central North Dakota give way to hills and forests farther west. To add a bit of a challenge, road networks also become inconsistent in western parts of the state and radar coverage starts to drop off.