40
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
7
Direct injuries
$1.6M
Property damage
Tornado in Todd County, South Dakota: 40 recorded events between 1960 and 2025. The strongest on record measured F2. That places the county #620 nationally and #12 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Todd County, South Dakota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Todd County is the 1990s, when 14 of the county's 40 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 Todd County archive, tornado makes up 7.1% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #620 for this hazard and #12 within South Dakota, putting it in the 78.6 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for tornado in Todd County with 13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-05-22 | EF2 | 4.6 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1979-09-07 | EF2 | 1.0 mi | 133 yd | Touched down here |
| 1974-07-02 | EF2 | 18.5 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1973-07-08 | EF2 | 1.0 mi | 133 yd | Touched down here |
| 1971-06-15 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1961-07-27 | EF2 | 5.0 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 2025-04-27 | EF1 | 13.8 mi | 255 yd | Touched down here |
| 1998-07-01 | EF1 | 0.1 mi | 30 yd | Touched down here |
| 1990-06-07 | EF1 | 1.0 mi | 40 yd | Touched down here |
| 1974-07-03 | EF1 | 11.3 mi | 10 yd | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28, 2025 | ST FRANCIS | EF1 | 0 | 6 | $1.0M |
| Jun 16, 1971 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 20, 2025 | PARMELEE | EFU | $0 |
| Apr 28, 2025 | MISSION | EF0 | $0 |
| Apr 28, 2025 | ST FRANCIS | EF1 | $1.0M |
| May 23, 2016 | MISSION | EF2 | $10K |
| Jun 14, 2011 | OKREEK | EF0 | $0 |
| Jul 13, 2009 | PARMELEE | EF0 | $0 |
| Jul 9, 2009 | MISSION | EF0 | $0 |
| Jul 9, 2009 | PARMELEE | EF0 | $0 |
| Aug 3, 2007 | ST FRANCIS | EF0 | $0 |
| May 4, 2003 | MISSION | F0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Todd County
- Thunderstorm Wind 253
- Hail 251
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado developed over southeastern Todd County and moved northeastward for about ten minutes. The tornado did not damage any structures as it tracked across fields for almost five miles. However, it did snap eight to ten power poles at the ground at the intersection of Littleburg Road and Hidden Timber Road. Several large trees in a shelter belt were snapped off and uprooted.
A brief spin-up touched down and produced EF0 damage to a|homestead 7 miles north of Mission. A mobile home lost all of its|roof and its north facing wall while the main home on the property|suffered major roof damage with most of the contents from the home|thrown back to the west. Other outbuildings on the property|suffered minor damage.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Todd County, South Dakota?
40 tornado events are recorded in Todd County between 1960 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Todd County?
The strongest tornado on record in Todd County measured F2.
Where does the tornado data for Todd 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 Todd County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/todd-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.