Clay County, South Dakota severe weather history spans 383 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 45.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,322 nationally and #44 in South Dakota.
383
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$10.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Clay County, South Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Clay County, South Dakota severe weather history averages 5.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 145 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 69 events fall before 1990 and 314 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $7.0M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Clay County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 174 | 0 | $250K | 4.5 | 1957–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 113 | 0 | $594K | 81 | 1955–2025 |
| Flood | 44 | 0 | $7.0M | 0 | 2007–2024 |
| Tornado | 31 | 0 | $2.7M | F2 | 1965–2021 |
| Flash Flood | 19 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2024 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $20K | 0 | 1997–1997 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2015–2015 |
Decade by decade
Clay 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
29 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 27 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962-05-21 | EF3 | 0 | 7 | 71.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1959-05-30 | EF2 | 1 | 2 | 26.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1984-06-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-09-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1967-08-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-06-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 8.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-06-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-06-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Clay County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 21, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | VERMILLION | 0 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Persistent moderate to heavy rain caused flooding of fields and other lowlands, including several roads, homes, and businesses. This flooding lasted for almost two days, and was aggravated locally by additional storms during that time. Some roads were damaged or washed out.
Excessive rainfall from September 10-12 in upper portions of the Vermillion River Basin (6.78 inches 2 miles east of Montrose, 5.63 inches at Montrose) resulted in a crest on the Vermillion River near Wakonda (gage site WKAS2) of 1.58 feet above flood stage on September 16. Highway 19 south of Centerville was closed due to high water, along with numerous other county roads.
Excessive rainfall from September 10-12 in upper portions of the Vermillion River Basin (6.78 inches 2 miles east of Montrose, 5.63 inches at Montrose, 4.68 inches at Hurley) resulted in a crest on the Vermillion River at Vermillion (gage site VERS2) of 2.43 feet above flood stage on September 19. Numerous county roads were inundated with water with considerable flooding of agricultural lands.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
15,219
Population (ACS)
$232K
Median home value
19
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 15, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| 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 |
| Jul 28, 2014 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Vermillion 116
- Wakonda 111
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Clay County, South Dakota?
383 events are on record between 1955 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $10.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Clay County?
Hail, with 174 recorded events — 45.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Clay County?
29 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 27 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Clay County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Clay County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Clay County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Clay County as very low risk, placing it in the 20 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Clay 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
- Clark County 426
- Codington County 523
- Charles Mix County 590
- Corson County 626
- Campbell County 276
- Custer County 974
Cite this page
“Clay County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/clay-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.