Douglas County, South Dakota severe weather history spans 227 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 42.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,273 nationally and #64 in South Dakota.
227
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
13
Direct injuries
$5.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Douglas County, South Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Douglas County, South Dakota severe weather history averages 3.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 64 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 38 events fall before 1990 and 189 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Douglas County, South Dakota record is wildfire, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $2.1M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Douglas County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 96 | 0 | $225K | 4.25 | 1955–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 82 | 0 | $1.4M | 76 | 1955–2025 |
| Tornado | 25 | 0 | $2.1M | F3 | 1960–2015 |
| Flash Flood | 13 | 0 | $135K | 0 | 1997–2020 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $1.3M | 0 | 2018–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2020 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1996–1996 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2004–2004 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 1 | $5K | 0 | 2000–2000 |
Decade by decade
Douglas 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
24 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962-05-14 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 70.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-05-10 | EF2 | 0 | 9 | 16.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1986-07-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-06-25 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 6.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-07-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-06-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-07-06 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-07-06 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-06-24 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-09-16 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Douglas County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 6, 2000 | Wildfire | DELMONT | 1 | 1 | $5K |
| May 10, 2015 | Tornado | DELMONT | 0 | 9 | $1.5M |
| Jun 25, 1969 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| May 15, 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | ARMOUR | 0 | 1 | $10K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado, crossing into Douglas County from Charles Mix County, destroyed or damaged 84 structures in and near Delmont, and injured 9 people in Delmont. About 50 of the homes and other structures were destroyed or severely damaged. The damage included numerous small farm buildings totally destroyed, most at four farms south of Delmont, several houses severely damaged, a large and 100 year old church severely damaged, and a newly constructed fire hall destroyed. Power lines and poles were down and the town was without power and water for two days. 100 residents were displaced.
Rainfall amounts across Douglas County from June 20-22 ranged from 3 to 5 inches. Some overland flooding ensued with several township roads damaged by flood waters. In addition, three homes reported water damage. Preliminary damage assessments estimate loss to public infrastructure across the county to be 582 thousand dollars.
Water was ponding over Highway 44 one-half mile west of the intersection with U.S. Highway 281. In addition, numerous county and township roads were inundated with water for several days and some loss of crops occurred.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
2,828
Population (ACS)
$167K
Median home value
18
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 |
| Jun 7, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 10, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Douglas County, South Dakota?
227 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $5.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Douglas County?
Hail, with 96 recorded events — 42.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Douglas County?
24 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 23 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Douglas County?
18 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Douglas County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Douglas County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Douglas County as very low risk, placing it in the 10 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Douglas 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
- Dewey County 516
- Edmunds County 547
- Deuel County 264
- Fall River County 677
- Day County 456
- Faulk County 366
Cite this page
“Douglas County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/douglas-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.