Hamlin County, South Dakota severe weather history spans 375 recorded events between 1964 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 51.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,356 nationally and #46 in South Dakota.
375
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
16
Direct injuries
$1.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Hamlin County, South Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Hamlin County, South Dakota severe weather history averages 6.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 124 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 47 events fall before 1990 and 328 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Hamlin County, South Dakota record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $1.0M 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 Hamlin County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 192 | 0 | $30K | 2.75 | 1964–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 93 | 1 | $217K | 95 | 1970–2025 |
| Flood | 45 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 2007–2025 |
| Tornado | 23 | 0 | $328K | F2 | 1964–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 18 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2022–2025 |
Decade by decade
Hamlin 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: 21 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 |
| 1984-05-12 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 27.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2022-05-12 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-07-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 14.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-07-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-06-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 36.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-05-12 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-06-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-06-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1996-10-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Hamlin County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | STONE BRIDGE | 1 | 1 | $215K |
| Apr 16, 1967 | Tornado | 0 | 11 | $3K | |
| Jun 22, 2017 | Hail | CASTLEWOOD | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| May 12, 2022 | Tornado | CASTLEWOOD | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 12, 2022 | Tornado | HAZEL | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Severe tree and structural damage occurred on Lake Poinsett with ninety mph winds. A woman was killed and her husband was seriously injured when their lake house was destroyed. A man was also hospitalized for electric shock.
Snowmelt flooding damaged many roads and highways, including U.S. Highway 81, throughout Hamlin County. Many roads were closed throughout the county. In the late evening of April 13th on U.S Highway 81, a car with four people inside went through a flooded area at a high rate of speed and ended up in the flooded ditch. They all got out with no injuries.
The Big Sioux near Castlewood would go into flood on August 22nd during the morning hours, cresting at 11.42 or 2.42 feet above flood stage on the morning of August 24th. The river would remain in flood through the evening of August 27th.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
6,373
Population (ACS)
$209K
Median home value
22
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Sep 23, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jun 7, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Castlewood 100
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Hamlin County, South Dakota?
375 events are on record between 1964 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $1.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Hamlin County?
Hail, with 192 recorded events — 51.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Hamlin County?
24 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 21 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Hamlin County?
22 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Hamlin County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Hamlin County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hamlin County as very low risk, placing it in the 10 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Hamlin 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
- Haakon County 570
- Hand County 579
- Gregory County 400
- Hanson County 244
- Grant County 281
- Harding County 749
Cite this page
“Hamlin County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/hamlin-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.