Day County, South Dakota severe weather history spans 456 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 45.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,041 nationally and #34 in South Dakota.
456
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
15
Direct injuries
$3.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Day County, South Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Day County, South Dakota severe weather history averages 6.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 127 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 44 events fall before 1990 and 412 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $2.7M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Day County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 207 | 0 | $51K | 4 | 1961–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 185 | 0 | $8K | 104 | 1963–2025 |
| Tornado | 32 | 0 | $2.7M | F2 | 1953–2022 |
| Flood | 18 | 0 | $254K | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 11 | 0 | $15K | 0 | 2003–2014 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2017–2025 |
Decade by decade
Day 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
35 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 32 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961-06-21 | EF3 | 1 | 7 | 156.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1996-07-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1953-06-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2022-05-12 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-09-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-06-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-07-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-06-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-06-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-06-25 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Day County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 31, 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | WEBSTER | 0 | 10 | $0 |
| Jul 23, 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | WAUBAY | 0 | 4 | $0 |
| Jun 25, 1973 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $3K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Marshall County Emergency Manager reported flooding on multiple roads located south of Langford in Day county. Flooding was also reported along the creek located near the Back Forty Beef Farm, 5 miles southeast of Pierpont.
Heavy rain caused water to run over South Dakota Highway 27 one mile south of Pierpont. Water was also reported over 422nd ave, 3 miles east of Pierpont, where a vehicle hydroplaned into the ditch. One of the rural county roads 5 miles southeast of Pierpont was partly washed out. Roadside ditches were full across the better part of northwest and north central Day county, with water overtopping several additional roads. 3.6 inches of rainfall was measured 6 miles east southeast of Pierpont by a resident, while a trained spotter 1 mile south of Roslyn recorded 4.64 inches. A resident 7 miles west of Roslyn would go on to estimate they received 5 inches of total rainfall.
A tornado 7 miles to the south-southeast of Webster hit an|outbuilding, pulling the roof off and knocking over the interior|wall. The debris from the building was carried to the northwest|for over 250 yards and spread out to the west. A calving shed was|rolled to the north and then northwest. A animal trailer was|tipped over and a metal windmill was knocked over and twisted.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
5,437
Population (ACS)
$174K
Median home value
24
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 6, 2023 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| Feb 27, 2023 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Jun 29, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, 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 |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Day County, South Dakota?
456 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $3.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Day County?
Hail, with 207 recorded events — 45.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Day County?
35 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 32 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Day County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Day County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Day County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Day County as very low risk, placing it in the 28 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Day 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
- Davison County 467
- Deuel County 264
- Custer County 974
- Dewey County 516
- Corson County 626
- Douglas County 227
Cite this page
“Day County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/day-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.