South Dakota Storm & Severe Weather History
Since 1996, South Dakota has logged 50,087 severe-weather events — about 1,616 a year — with 73 direct deaths, 561 injuries and $854.1M in reported property damage.
By event type
Hail14,715—$163.2M
Thunderstorm Wind10,4375 d$79.1M
High Wind4,961—$6.4M
Winter Weather3,1148 d$613K
Winter Storm2,8951 d$92.1M
Flood2,5345 d$226.9M
Blizzard2,49913 d$112.8M
Drought1,986——
Heavy Snow1,416—$341K
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill1,3886 d—
Tornado8418 d$87.3M
Flash Flood8344 d$54.3M
Excessive Heat6121 d$30K
Cold/Wind Chill6056 d—
Strong Wind279—$265K
Heat2461 d—
Events by year
19962026
Notable events (89)
Events with deaths, major damage, or a strong tornado — deadliest first.
Tornado (F4)May 30, 1998
Mccook · 6 killed · 150 injured · $17.0M damage
Ice StormJanuary 10, 1996
Codington · 3 killed · 1 injured · $100K damage
Ice StormMarch 6, 2002
Jackson · 2 killed · 1 injured · $250K damage
Ice StormNovember 14, 1996
Aurora · 2 killed · 1 injured · $100K damage
Winter WeatherJanuary 16, 2026
Lyman · 2 killed ·
BlizzardDecember 13, 2022
Todd · 2 killed ·
Winter WeatherJanuary 26, 2022
Codington · 2 killed · 2 injured ·
FloodMarch 20, 2019
Sanborn · 2 killed ·
Extreme Cold/Wind ChillJanuary 1, 2017
Dewey · 2 killed ·
Flash FloodJune 20, 2011
Lyman · 2 killed ·
Cold/Wind ChillJanuary 15, 1997
Brule · 2 killed · 2 injured ·
FloodJune 20, 2024
Lincoln · 1 killed · $12.0M damage
Tornado (F2)June 4, 1999
Oglala Lakota · 1 killed · 54 injured · $3.2M damage
Flash FloodMay 5, 2012
Lake · 1 killed · $2.0M damage
Ice StormNovember 14, 1996
Moody · 1 killed · 2 injured · $400K damage
BlizzardDecember 25, 2016
Haakon · 1 killed · $300K damage
BlizzardNovember 5, 2008
Rapid City · 1 killed · $300K damage
Thunderstorm WindJune 21, 2013
Hamlin · 1 killed · 1 injured · $215K damage
BlizzardNovember 28, 2005
Douglas · 1 killed · $100K damage
Thunderstorm WindApril 17, 2006
Oglala Lakota · 1 killed · 5 injured · $20K damage
Dense FogSeptember 8, 1997
Minnehaha · 1 killed · 2 injured · $20K damage
BlizzardMarch 24, 1996
Hutchinson · 1 killed · 1 injured · $20K damage
BlizzardJanuary 17, 1996
Mccook · 1 killed · $10K damage
WildfireMarch 6, 2000
Douglas · 1 killed · 1 injured · $5K damage
LightningJune 9, 2001
Oglala Lakota · 1 killed · 1 injured · $1K damage
Winter StormApril 1, 2025
Grant · 1 killed · 1 injured ·
Winter WeatherApril 1, 2025
Hand · 1 killed ·
Cold/Wind ChillJanuary 19, 2025
Minnehaha · 1 killed ·
Winter WeatherFebruary 14, 2024
Deuel · 1 killed ·
Extreme Cold/Wind ChillJanuary 12, 2024
Dewey · 1 killed ·
Excessive HeatAugust 21, 2023
Yankton · 1 killed ·
FloodJuly 1, 2022
Spink · 1 killed ·
Thunderstorm WindMay 12, 2022
Minnehaha · 1 killed ·
Thunderstorm WindMay 12, 2022
Minnehaha · 1 killed ·
Tornado (EF2)August 30, 2020
Hand · 1 killed ·
FloodApril 1, 2019
Davison · 1 killed ·
BlizzardMarch 13, 2019
Rapid City · 1 killed ·
BlizzardFebruary 7, 2019
Codington · 1 killed ·
Extreme Cold/Wind ChillJanuary 8, 2019
Walworth · 1 killed ·
Extreme Cold/Wind ChillJanuary 25, 2018
Brown · 1 killed ·
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database. Counts are every logged event since 1996; the "notable" list is filtered to events with fatalities, major damage or a strong tornado. Damage is the reporting office's estimate. A record of past weather is not a forecast. See About the Data.