Fall River County, South Dakota severe weather history spans 677 recorded events between 1959 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 55.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #435 nationally and #12 in South Dakota.
677
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$6.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Fall River County, South Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Fall River County, South Dakota severe weather history averages 10.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 249 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 64 events fall before 1990 and 613 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is hail, with $2.7M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Fall River County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 376 | 0 | $2.7M | 4.5 | 1959–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 235 | 0 | $2.0M | 80 | 1959–2025 |
| Tornado | 30 | 0 | $1.5M | F2 | 1967–2017 |
| Flash Flood | 16 | 0 | $130K | 0 | 2003–2018 |
| Flood | 11 | 0 | $440K | 0 | 2007–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2012–2016 |
| Wildfire | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2000 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2011 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $5K | 0 | 1997–1997 |
Decade by decade
Fall River 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
32 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 32 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-06-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 16.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-06-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 22.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-08-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-06-05 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-07-14 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-06-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-07-01 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-06-24 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-05-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1979-07-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Fall River County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 1, 1998 | Tornado | HOT SPGS | 0 | 1 | $150K |
| Jun 24, 1998 | Tornado | HOT SPGS | 0 | 1 | $166K |
| Jun 6, 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
Strong winds damaged fences, signs, and buildings in Hot Springs and blew down trees and power poles. Buildings and automobiles were damaged by fallen trees. A mobile home was lifted off the ground and destroyed. A large portion of Hot Springs lost power for several hours.
A tornado touched down just west of the Edgemont Road. It moved eastward and caused damage at a ranch just east of Highway 71 north of Ardmore. A large wooden barn was completely destroyed; its walls and roof were blown more than 100 yards away. Two large sheds lost roofs and walls and smaller sheds were blown apart. The modular house sustained minor damage.
Runoff from heavy rain caused overland flooding east of Hot Springs and south of Buffalo Gap, with flooding along Hat Creek around Ardmore and Horsehead Creek around Oelrichs. Several county roads west of Oelrichs and a road along Beaver Creek south of Buffalo Gap had to be closed.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
7,258
Population (ACS)
$193K
Median home value
18
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 7, 2026 | Straight-Line Winds | STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS | DR |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | 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
- Edgemont 139
- Hot Springs 126
- Oelrichs 115
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Fall River County, South Dakota?
677 events are on record between 1959 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $6.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Fall River County?
Hail, with 376 recorded events — 55.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Fall River County?
32 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 32 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Fall River County?
18 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Fall River County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Fall River County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Fall River County as very low risk, placing it in the 31 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Fall River 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
- Edmunds County 547
- Faulk County 366
- Douglas County 227
- Grant County 281
- Dewey County 516
- Gregory County 400
Cite this page
“Fall River County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/fall-river-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.