Bennett County, South Dakota severe weather history spans 413 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 53.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,204 nationally and #38 in South Dakota.
413
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$3.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Bennett County, South Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Bennett County, South Dakota severe weather history averages 6.1 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 141 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 42 events fall before 1990 and 371 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is hail, with $1.4M 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 Bennett County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 221 | 0 | $1.4M | 4.25 | 1964–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 144 | 0 | $130K | 79 | 1958–2025 |
| Tornado | 31 | 0 | $953K | F3 | 1957–2020 |
| Flood | 6 | 0 | $1.3M | 0 | 2008–2019 |
| Flash Flood | 5 | 0 | $2K | 400 | 1997–2019 |
| Wildfire | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2000 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2019–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–1999 |
Decade by decade
Bennett 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
33 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 30 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963-06-06 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 24.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-08-06 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 28.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2003-07-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-03-29 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-07-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 15.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2019-06-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-05-28 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-06-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1984-04-26 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1977-05-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Bennett County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 29, 2013 | Tornado | ALLEN | 0 | 1 | $100K |
| May 29, 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | ALLEN | 0 | 1 | $25K |
| Aug 2, 1989 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 | |
| Mar 30, 1982 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Runoff from melting snow caused major flooding, which washed out numerous roads and flooded a few structures. The Little White River compromised roads in four locations. One section of road was washed completely away for a quarter of a mile, while another spot was washed out nine feet deep and 15 feet wide. The Little White River near Martin recorded its second highest flow, while near Vetal it tied its record crest at 12.53 feet and 3540 cfs.
A tornado touched down on the west side of Allen Road south of Allen and rolled a mobile home down a hill. It tore off the roof and collapsed several walls of a small stick built house on the east side of the road before dissipating.
Thunderstorm wind gusts tore three grain bins off their foundations and blew them more than 250 yards. One landed in a tree, another on a road, and the third in a field. A telephone pole was blown over onto another grain bin, a feed wagon was tossed across the yard, and irrigation pipe was blown around.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
3,345
Population (ACS)
$156K
Median home value
15
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 15, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Feb 27, 2023 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Sep 23, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Martin 130
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Bennett County, South Dakota?
413 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $3.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Bennett County?
Hail, with 221 recorded events — 53.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Bennett County?
33 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 30 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Bennett County?
15 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Bennett County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Bennett County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Bennett County as very low risk, placing it in the 6 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Bennett 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
- Beadle County 689
- Bon Homme County 479
- Aurora County 305
- Brookings County 509
- Brown County 1,102
- Brule County 385
Cite this page
“Bennett County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/bennett-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.