144
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$130K
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Bennett County, South Dakota: 144 recorded events between 1958 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 79. That places the county #1,608 nationally and #35 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Bennett County, South Dakota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Bennett County is the 2010s, when 56 of the county's 144 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 Bennett County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 34.9% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #1,608 for this hazard and #35 within South Dakota, putting it in the 48.9 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Bennett County with 55 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.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 29, 2013 | ALLEN | 70 | 0 | 1 | $25K |
| Aug 2, 1989 | 0 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 5, 2025 | HARRINGTON | 56 | $0 |
| Oct 5, 2025 | MARTIN MUNI ARPT | 62 | $0 |
| Aug 14, 2025 | HARRINGTON | 66 | $0 |
| Aug 14, 2025 | MARTIN MUNI ARPT | 51 | $0 |
| Jul 21, 2025 | TUTHILL | 61 | $0 |
| Jul 9, 2025 | VETAL | 61 | $0 |
| Jul 9, 2025 | MARTIN MUNI ARPT | 52 | $0 |
| Jul 9, 2025 | MARTIN MUNI ARPT | 69 | $0 |
| Jul 9, 2025 | SWETT | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 29, 2025 | HARRINGTON | 63 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Bennett County
- Hail 221
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
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.
Straight-line wind damage was observed along BIA Road 22 southeast of Allen. The winds tore part of the roof off a small building and ripped shingles and metal roofing off two houses. A mobile home was rolled and completely smashed. A large cottonwood tree was snapped.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Bennett County, South Dakota?
144 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Bennett County between 1958 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Bennett County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Bennett County measured 79.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Bennett 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
“Thunderstorm Wind in Bennett County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/bennett-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.