Hail in Clay County, South Dakota

Hail in Clay County, South Dakota: 174 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 4.5. That places the county #772 nationally and #44 statewide for this hazard.

Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.

The busiest decade for hail in Clay County is the 2000s, when 90 of the county's 174 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.

Within the Clay County archive, hail makes up 45.4% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #772 for this hazard and #44 within South Dakota, putting it in the 75.2 percentile of all U.S. counties.

May is the peak month for hail in Clay County with 54 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.

• Thunderstorm Wind 113
• Flood 44

How many hail events are on record in Clay County, South Dakota?

174 hail events are recorded in Clay County between 1957 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.

What is the strongest hail recorded in Clay County?

The strongest hail on record in Clay County measured 4.5.

Where does the hail data for Clay County come from?

All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.