Beadle County, South Dakota severe weather history spans 689 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 41.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #417 nationally and #10 in South Dakota.
689
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$24.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Beadle County, South Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Beadle County, South Dakota severe weather history averages 9.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 188 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 144 events fall before 1990 and 545 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $18.6M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Beadle County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 286 | 0 | $78K | 3 | 1958–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 282 | 0 | $3.2M | 100 | 1955–2025 |
| Flood | 59 | 0 | $2.7M | 0 | 2007–2025 |
| Tornado | 38 | 0 | $18.6M | F3 | 1953–2022 |
| Flash Flood | 12 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2025 |
| Lightning | 4 | 0 | $25K | 0 | 1998–2004 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2014 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 1997–2016 |
Decade by decade
Beadle 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
42 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 39 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-06-18 | EF4 | 0 | 2 | 11.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2006-08-24 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 24.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2003-06-24 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-08-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-06-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 20.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1972-07-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-05-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-07-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-06-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.7 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Beadle County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 24, 2006 | Tornado | WESSINGTON | 0 | 2 | $15.0M |
| Sep 12, 1967 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $3K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Major flooding of the James River, as well as flooding of small streams and lakes in the county, continued through April. Much farmland remained flooded, both near to and away from the James River. The James River was 7.3 feet above flood stage at Huron on April 1st, and fell very slowly during the month. Over 50 miles of roads remained closed by the flooding at the start of the month, including South Dakota Highway 28 in the eastern part of the county. Water was running over other roads, from flooded streams, creeks, and fields as well as from the James River. Many roads were heavily damaged. The damage to township and county roads alone was estimated near the end of April at 1.7 million dollars. Some homes and businesses were also flooded, with the flooding of these places slowly alleviating through the month. High water and groundwater levels from record precipitation in the year 2010, a main reason the flooding onset was so fast in March, was also a main reason that the flooding subsided so slowly during April.
A tornado severely damaged 3 houses and destroyed or damaged a barn and several smaller buildings on farmsteads. The tornado knocked down power poles, with a transformer on one of the poles starting a brief fire. A tree shelter belt and crops were damaged. The amount of crop damage was not known.
A tornado destroyed farm buildings and numerous trees, resulting in F3 damage southwest of Cavour. Homes and businesses within the town of Cavour were severely damaged (F2). Winds of 120 mph were measured by an anemometer on top of a grain elevator in Cavour.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
19,309
Population (ACS)
$175K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 29, 2022 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORM, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 7, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Aug 2, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 13, 2011 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Huron 246
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Beadle County, South Dakota?
689 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $24.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Beadle County?
Hail, with 286 recorded events — 41.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Beadle County?
42 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 39 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Beadle County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Beadle County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Beadle County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Beadle County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 47 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Beadle 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
- Aurora County 305
- Bennett County 413
- Bon Homme County 479
- Brookings County 509
- Brown County 1,102
- Brule County 385
Cite this page
“Beadle County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/beadle-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.