Faulk County, South Dakota severe weather history spans 366 recorded events between 1952 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 52.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,400 nationally and #47 in South Dakota.
366
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$389K
Property damage
The record
What the Faulk County, South Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Faulk County, South Dakota severe weather history averages 5.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 133 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 54 events fall before 1990 and 312 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $271K in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Faulk County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 193 | 0 | $0 | 5 | 1955–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 130 | 0 | $50K | 96 | 1957–2025 |
| Tornado | 21 | 0 | $58K | F3 | 1952–2024 |
| Flood | 9 | 0 | $271K | 0 | 2010–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 7 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1999–2022 |
| Funnel Cloud | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2008–2024 |
Decade by decade
Faulk 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: 22 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957-06-09 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-09-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1966-07-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-06-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-06-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-06-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-07-27 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1985-08-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-04-19 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.4 mi | Touched down here |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A pole barn was completely destroyed with anchoring poles pulled straight up out of the ground. A second well anchored outbuilding was ripped off of its foundation while a third outbuilding was tossed. Debris from all three destroyed buildings was spread between one half to three quarters of a mile to the northeast across an open field. Debris lumber from the buildings was pierced into the ground. Some fencing was damaged and farm equipment was pushed and tipped over. The main house suffered shingle and siding damage.
West of South Dakota Highway 47, minor roof damage occurred to a house, a calving shed was pushed 10 feet to the northeast and sheet metal from a barn was tossed across the highway to the east northeast into an open field. On the main property, damage was done to a dog kennel, a tree was uprooted, pine trees were snapped at the trunk and stripped of needles, fencing was leveled, and a batting cage and playhouse were tossed. Further northeast several calf sheds were moved or rolled. One calving shed was lofted into the air over a grove of trees.
The tornado touched down about a mile south of Highway 20 and traveled over four miles to the northeast before lifting. The tornado caused minor damage to two farms. A garage door was blown over the roof of the garage along with tree damage. A livestock trailer was also blown over along with more tree damage at the second farm.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
2,126
Population (ACS)
$148K
Median home value
19
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 6, 2023 | Flood | FLOODING | 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 |
| Jun 7, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Faulk County, South Dakota?
366 events are on record between 1952 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $389K in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Faulk County?
Hail, with 193 recorded events — 52.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Faulk County?
23 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 22 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Faulk County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Faulk County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Faulk County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Faulk County as very low risk, placing it in the 8 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Faulk 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
- Fall River County 677
- Grant County 281
- Edmunds County 547
- Gregory County 400
- Douglas County 227
- Haakon County 570
Cite this page
“Faulk County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/faulk-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.