Perkins County, South Dakota severe weather history spans 727 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 46.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #371 nationally and #7 in South Dakota.
727
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$7.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Perkins County, South Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Perkins County, South Dakota severe weather history averages 10.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 303 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 69 events fall before 1990 and 658 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 $2.6M 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 Perkins County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 337 | 0 | $2.0M | 4 | 1957–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 309 | 0 | $2.6M | 90 | 1962–2025 |
| Tornado | 45 | 0 | $1.1M | F2 | 1957–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 14 | 0 | $380K | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Flood | 14 | 0 | $950K | 0 | 2008–2019 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2020 |
| Wildfire | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2000 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $20K | 0 | 2005–2005 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2006–2006 |
Decade by decade
Perkins 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: 32 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-05-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 22.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-05-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-07-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-05-25 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-08-12 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 6.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-07-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-06-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1964-08-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-07-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-05-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Perkins County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 1993 | Tornado | W of Usta | 0 | 3 | $50K |
| Aug 12, 1969 | 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
Runoff from heavy rain caused flooding upstream of Shadehill Reservoir and along the Moreau River. Date Road south of SD Highway 20 was closed, Rabbit Creek covered a couple of county roads, a culvert on Zeona Road was washed out, and county roads C5 and C1 were inundated with water.
Ice jams in the Moreau River, combined with runoff from melting snow, caused moderate flooding along the Moreau River. The river crested about four feet above flood stage at the SD Highway 73 bridge, with a resulting flow of 19,400 cfs. Besides flooding agricultural land along the river, flooded outbuildings and corrals were reported.
Five to six inches of rain was reported west of Lodgepole and three to five inches of rain fell around Bison and Shadehill Reservoir. Two to three inches of rain fell around Lemmon. Runoff from the heavy rain inundated many roads, driveways, and fields in northern Perkins County. Localized street flooding was reported in Lemmon. Shadehill Reservoir rose over 2.5 feet from September 8 to 14.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
3,001
Population (ACS)
$115K
Median home value
26
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Usta 172
- Meadow 104
- Lodgepole 103
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Perkins County, South Dakota?
727 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $7.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Perkins County?
Hail, with 337 recorded events — 46.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Perkins County?
32 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 Perkins County?
26 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Perkins County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Perkins County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Perkins County as very low risk, placing it in the 3 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Perkins 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
- Pennington County 2,406
- Potter County 309
- Oglala Lakota County 676
- Moody County 323
- Roberts County 341
- Minnehaha County 1,164
Cite this page
“Perkins County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/perkins-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.