Brule County, South Dakota severe weather history spans 385 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 47.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,314 nationally and #43 in South Dakota.
385
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$5.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Brule County, South Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Brule County, South Dakota severe weather history averages 5.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 125 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 75 events fall before 1990 and 310 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $3.3M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Brule County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 182 | 0 | $150K | 3.5 | 1958–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 145 | 0 | $1.5M | 74 | 1956–2025 |
| Tornado | 28 | 0 | $3.3M | F3 | 1954–2010 |
| Flood | 18 | 0 | $628K | 0 | 2010–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 9 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2002–2024 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $40K | 0 | 2002–2004 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2013 |
Decade by decade
Brule County, South Dakota severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
32 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 31 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971-07-24 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-07-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-07-01 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-06-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 33.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1965-05-08 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-06-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-05-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-06-07 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 13.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-05-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-06-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Brule County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2, 1987 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 | |
| Jul 1, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Rainfall amounts across Brule County from June 20-22 ranged from 4 to 11 inches. Widespread overland flooding ensued. ||Two homes were damaged by flood waters – one in the city of Chamberlain and the other in the countryside near Healy Dam. Numerous county roads were closed and damaged by flood waters. In addition, three small private dams washed out, including Pazour, Sharping, and Healy Dams. Silt from behind Healy Dam washed downstream and resulted in some damage to American Creek Marina along the Missouri River. Preliminary damage assessments estimate loss to public infrastructure across the county at nearly 259 thousand dollars.
Red Lake expanded enough to flood cattle feed lots, which then contributed to an outbreak of Avian Botulism due to the contaminated water. Flooding resulted in crop losses and damage to public infrastructure including county and township roads, culverts, and some bridges. The property damage costs include estimates for public property losses. Crop loss estimates provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
Lightning struck a grain elevator at Cedar Grove Colony, blowing out the sides and bottom of the elevator. The lightning also overloaded a transformer and damaged the electrical system at the mill, resulting in a small fire at a fertilizer storage bin.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
5,283
Population (ACS)
$217K
Median home value
21
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 15, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Nov 18, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 23, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jun 7, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Brule County, South Dakota?
385 events are on record between 1954 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $5.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Brule County?
Hail, with 182 recorded events — 47.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Brule County?
32 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 31 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Brule County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Brule County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Brule County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Brule County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 59 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Brule County, South Dakota severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Brown County 1,102
- Buffalo County 179
- Brookings County 509
- Butte County 678
- Bon Homme County 479
- Campbell County 276
Cite this page
“Brule County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/brule-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.