Thunderstorm Wind in Buffalo County, South Dakota

Thunderstorm Wind in Buffalo County, South Dakota: 66 recorded events between 1959 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 87. That places the county #2,591 nationally and #66 statewide for this hazard.

Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.

The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Buffalo County is the 2020s, when 27 of the county's 66 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 Buffalo County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 36.9% of all recorded severe weather across 6 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #2,591 for this hazard and #66 within South Dakota, putting it in the 18.0 percentile of all U.S. counties.

Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Buffalo County with 28 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.

• Hail 81

How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Buffalo County, South Dakota?

66 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Buffalo County between 1959 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths.

What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Buffalo County?

The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Buffalo County measured 87.

Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Buffalo 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.