46
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$14.7M
Property damage
Tornado in Minnehaha County, South Dakota: 46 recorded events between 1956 and 2022. The strongest on record measured F3. That places the county #455 nationally and #5 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Minnehaha County, South Dakota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Minnehaha County is the 2000s, when 11 of the county's 46 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 Minnehaha County archive, tornado makes up 4.0% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #455 for this hazard and #5 within South Dakota, putting it in the 84.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for tornado in Minnehaha County with 18 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.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993-06-07 | EF4 | 54.0 mi | 800 yd | Touched down here |
| 2019-09-10 | EF2 | 0.7 mi | 75 yd | Touched down here |
| 2014-06-17 | EF2 | 3.4 mi | 400 yd | Touched down here |
| 2008-06-05 | EF2 | 2.6 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1993-05-07 | EF2 | 11.5 mi | 100 yd | Crossed in |
| 1992-06-16 | EF2 | 5.0 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 1987-07-11 | EF2 | 5.0 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1965-05-08 | EF2 | 4.5 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1964-06-22 | EF2 | 10.0 mi | 10 yd | Crossed in |
| 1962-05-12 | EF2 | 10.1 mi | 880 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 25, 2003 | PUMPKIN CENTER | F1 | 0 | 3 | $500K |
| Jul 18, 1989 | F1 | 0 | 1 | $250K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 30, 2022 | CORSON | EF1 | $0 |
| May 30, 2022 | SOUTH SIOUX FALLS | EF1 | $0 |
| Sep 11, 2019 | SOUTH SIOUX FALLS | EF2 | $3.0M |
| Jul 18, 2019 | CROOKS | EF0 | $2K |
| Jul 30, 2018 | ELLIS | EF0 | $0 |
| Jul 30, 2018 | PUMPKIN CENTER | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 18, 2014 | PUMPKIN CENTER | EF2 | $100K |
| Jun 5, 2014 | HARTFORD | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 6, 2008 | BALTIC | EF2 | $0 |
| Jun 6, 2008 | HUMBOLDT | EF0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Minnehaha County
- Hail 494
- Thunderstorm Wind 374
- Flood 157
- Flash Flood 67
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Shortly after touchdown just southeast of O'Gorman High School, the tornado struck a multi-story apartment building and removed a majority of the roof. Numerous trees were uprooted in residential areas north of 41st Street as the tornado continued in a general southeast direction. The tornado crossed 41st Street into a more commercial district, causing significant structural damage to several businesses, including the removal of the roof from one strip mall and exterior walls from another building. After another quarter mile of travel to the southeast, the tornado destroyed an apartment building garage. The tornado lifted before reaching the corner of 49th Street and Western Avenue. Average path width was 50 yards. Property damage costs are rough estimates.
A tornado heavily damaged 20 or more homes in the Hartford Heights development east of Hartford. Roofs were removed from houses and garages were destroyed. The tornado uprooted large trees. Many of the homes had to be destroyed afterwards due to the amount of damage they received.
A tornado blew down the exterior walls of a house, in which a family escaped injury by taking shelter in the basement. The tornado also tore the roof off a farm storage building, tore the metal roof off a metal building, blew down electrical poles, and caused tree damage, including several trees snapped off at the trunks.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Minnehaha County, South Dakota?
46 tornado events are recorded in Minnehaha County between 1956 and 2022, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Minnehaha County?
The strongest tornado on record in Minnehaha County measured F3.
Where does the tornado data for Minnehaha 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.
Cite this page
“Tornado in Minnehaha County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/minnehaha-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.