Stanley County, South Dakota severe weather history spans 429 recorded events between 1960 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 46.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,136 nationally and #35 in South Dakota.
429
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
11
Direct injuries
$5.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Stanley County, South Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Stanley County, South Dakota severe weather history averages 6.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 149 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 51 events fall before 1990 and 378 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 $5.1M 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 Stanley County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 199 | 0 | $5.1M | 106 | 1965–2025 |
| Hail | 183 | 0 | $0 | 2.75 | 1960–2025 |
| Tornado | 22 | 0 | $58K | F2 | 1960–2023 |
| Flood | 15 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 9 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 1999–2024 |
| Wildfire | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2000 |
Decade by decade
Stanley 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974-05-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-06-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1960-08-24 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 13.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-06-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1986-09-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-05-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-08-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-08-08 | EF1 | 0 | 3 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-07-18 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-06-15 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Stanley County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 25, 1986 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 3 | $0 | |
| Aug 9, 1969 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $25K | |
| Jul 11, 1987 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| Jun 22, 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | HAYES | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 14, 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Pierre | 0 | 1 | $40K |
| Aug 25, 1960 | 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
Widespread wind damage included cars piled into buildings at Fort Pierre, highway signs torn off, billboards uprooted, a hole in the roof of Pierre City Hall from falling tree branches, numerous downed power lines and poles, a roof blown off a business in Onida, roofs on many dwellings damaged, many trees blown down including some large ones, many broken tree branches and limbs littering and blocking roads, trees stripped of leaves, crops damaged or destroyed over large areas, and several small farm buildings destroyed. Heavy rain of 2 to 6 inches in the Pierre and Forth Pierre areas flooded roads and basements and added to the crop damage.
Eighty mph winds destroyed two mobile homes parked in the Chantier Heights Development 15 miles northwest of Pierre on South Dakota Highway 1806. A 77-year-old woman was injured when her mobile home parked on a bluff overlooking Lake Oahe partially rolled down the bluff, toward the lake. The woman received, minor injuries.
Very heavy rains of 2 to 4 inches fell across much of Stanley county causing extensive flash flooding. Many dams were broken along with tens of fences crossing creeks in the county. Seventeen roads also sustained some form of damage from the flooding.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
3,015
Population (ACS)
$204K
Median home value
14
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 27, 2023 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Feb 1, 2017 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Jul 30, 2015 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 13, 2011 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Ft Pierre 162
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Stanley County, South Dakota?
429 events are on record between 1960 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $5.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Stanley County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 199 recorded events — 46.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Stanley 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 Stanley County?
14 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Stanley County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Stanley County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Stanley County as very low risk, placing it in the 5 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Stanley 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
- Spink County 595
- Sully County 278
- Todd County 567
- Sanborn County 323
- Tripp County 595
- Roberts County 341
Cite this page
“Stanley County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/stanley-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.