Edmunds County, South Dakota severe weather history spans 547 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 52.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #736 nationally and #23 in South Dakota.
547
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$127K
Property damage
The record
What the Edmunds County, South Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Edmunds County, South Dakota severe weather history averages 7.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 159 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 64 events fall before 1990 and 483 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $50K 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 Edmunds County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 289 | 0 | $0 | 4.5 | 1960–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 199 | 0 | $50K | 104 | 1959–2025 |
| Tornado | 27 | 0 | $28K | F2 | 1955–2022 |
| Flash Flood | 17 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1999–2022 |
| Flood | 12 | 0 | $40K | 0 | 2010–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2008 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2022–2022 |
Decade by decade
Edmunds 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
31 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 29 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-05-22 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 5.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2010-05-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 18.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-07-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-06-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 49.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1955-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-08-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-06-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-06-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-06-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1976-06-25 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A hail swath determined by high resolution satellite imagery along with surface reports occurred from Edmunds County east across southern Brown into Day Counties. The largest hail size was baseball size. The scar dimensions covered approximately 70 square miles in Edmunds County. The start location was approximately 5 miles southwest of Ipswich, and it continued in an east southeast orientation to the Brown County line approximately 5 miles south of Mina Lake. Drone and photo evidence of damage in this area suggest substantial to total crop losses.
The tornado touched down northeast of Ipswich and traveled about a mile to the northeast before lifting. Damage was sustained to a farm with a section of the roof lost along with the siding damaged. A metal outbuilding also lost the majority of its roof with a tractor damaged due to flying debris. There was also tree damage along with a dented grain bin.
The windows and vinyl siding on the west side of a house were destroyed due to seventy mph winds and golf ball size hail. The wind and hail also damaged the west side of a barn and severely damaged the bean and corn crops.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
4,048
Population (ACS)
$163K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 7, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Feb 1, 2017 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| May 13, 2011 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
| May 13, 2010 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Mina 107
- Bowdle 105
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Edmunds County, South Dakota?
547 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $127K in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Edmunds County?
Hail, with 289 recorded events — 52.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Edmunds County?
31 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 29 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Edmunds County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Edmunds County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Edmunds County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Edmunds County as very low risk, placing it in the 7 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Edmunds 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
- Douglas County 227
- Fall River County 677
- Dewey County 516
- Faulk County 366
- Deuel County 264
- Grant County 281
Cite this page
“Edmunds County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/edmunds-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.