Hail in Harding County, South Dakota

Hail in Harding County, South Dakota: 357 recorded events between 1962 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 4.25. That places the county #215 nationally and #8 statewide for this hazard.

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

The busiest decade for hail in Harding County is the 2010s, when 132 of the county's 357 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 Harding County archive, hail makes up 47.7% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #215 for this hazard and #8 within South Dakota, putting it in the 93.1 percentile of all U.S. counties.

Jul is the peak month for hail in Harding County with 170 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 346

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

357 hail events are recorded in Harding County between 1962 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.

What is the strongest hail recorded in Harding County?

The strongest hail on record in Harding County measured 4.25.

Where does the hail data for Harding 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.