Davison County, South Dakota severe weather history spans 467 recorded events between 1953 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 38.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #993 nationally and #33 in South Dakota.
467
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
53
Direct injuries
$45.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Davison County, South Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Davison County, South Dakota severe weather history averages 6.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 167 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 64 events fall before 1990 and 403 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Davison County, South Dakota record is flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $27.5M 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 Davison County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 180 | 0 | $9.1M | 104 | 1956–2025 |
| Hail | 166 | 0 | $5.1M | 4 | 1958–2024 |
| Flood | 72 | 1 | $27.5M | 0 | 2007–2024 |
| Tornado | 24 | 0 | $3.2M | F3 | 1953–2015 |
| Flash Flood | 19 | 0 | $550K | 0 | 2002–2024 |
| Lightning | 5 | 0 | $67K | 0 | 1997–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2015–2015 |
Decade by decade
Davison 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
23 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968-06-20 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 9.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-05-14 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 70.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1962-05-21 | EF3 | 0 | 32 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-06-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-06-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-08-08 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 34.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-04-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-05-27 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-08-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Davison County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 1, 2019 | Flood | LOOMIS | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 22, 1962 | Tornado | 0 | 32 | $2.5M | |
| Aug 5, 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | MITCHELL | 0 | 10 | $8.0M |
| Jun 20, 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | MITCHELL | 0 | 5 | $500K |
| May 28, 1989 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| May 15, 1962 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| Aug 9, 1969 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K | |
| May 27, 1954 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Runoff from occasional precipitation in late March and April maintained considerable flooding throughout the flood plain across Davison county. 416th Avenue near Rosedale Colony and 257th Street near the gage site were impacted by water. A direct fatality to a 22 year-old male occurred early on April 3, when his vehicle entered floodwaters around 7 feet in depth just west of the James River bridge on 250th Street.||The James River at Mitchell (gage site JRMS2) crested at 6.30 feet above flood stage on April 22, the sixth highest crest on record. Major flooding continued at the end of the month.
Heavy rainfall from September 10-12 totalling 7 to 8 inches near Mitchell led to widespread areal flooding. Travel was significantly hampered across most of the county, including the closure of Interstate 90. Smaller creeks and ponding resulted in the closure of most township and county roads. Five miles south of Mitchell, a bridge over Enemy Creek was washed out, requiring a swift water rescue of one person who was overwhelmed by the current. Three residents located one-half mile east of this bridge were also evacuated from waist deep waters. This bridge was one of nine damaged across the county. A no-wake order was placed on Lake Mitchell due to extremely high water. Significant street flooding occurred around Mitchell for the better part of three days. Property damage costs are rough estimates. Flooding also resulted in the loss of crops. Crop loss estimates provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
A wet microburst with winds estimated at 120 mph caused heavy damage in and around Mitchell. Apartments and several mobile homes were destroyed, vehicles were overturned, and other damage occurred to buildings and vehicles. Widespread tree and power line damage also occurred. Ten people were injured, although the majority of the injuries were minor. The damage path was approximately a mile and a half long and a mile wide, extending over the southwest part of Mitchell.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
19,952
Population (ACS)
$206K
Median home value
15
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 15, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Nov 18, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Jun 7, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR |
| May 22, 2007 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Mitchell 278
- Mt Vernon 131
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Davison County, South Dakota?
467 events are on record between 1953 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $45.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Davison County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 180 recorded events — 38.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Davison County?
23 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 20 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Davison County?
15 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Davison County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Davison County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Davison County as very low risk, placing it in the 39 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Davison 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
- Custer County 974
- Day County 456
- Corson County 626
- Deuel County 264
- Codington County 523
- Dewey County 516
Cite this page
“Davison County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/davison-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.