Hanson County, South Dakota severe weather history spans 244 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 36.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,145 nationally and #62 in South Dakota.
244
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
6
Direct injuries
$4.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Hanson County, South Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Hanson County, South Dakota severe weather history averages 3.4 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 108 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 17 events fall before 1990 and 227 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $1.6M 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 Hanson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 90 | 0 | $65K | 3 | 1964–2023 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 74 | 0 | $1.5M | 87 | 1958–2025 |
| Flood | 56 | 0 | $1.6M | 0 | 2007–2024 |
| Tornado | 18 | 0 | $1.2M | F3 | 1954–2010 |
| Flash Flood | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2007–2012 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 2004–2004 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2009 |
Decade by decade
Hanson 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-05-30 | EF4 | 6 | 150 | 14.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-06-20 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 9.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2007-05-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1998-05-30 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-08-08 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 34.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1954-05-27 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-05-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-05-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-05-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-05-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Hanson County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 20, 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | ALEXANDRIA | 0 | 3 | $1.2M |
| Jun 10, 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | FULTON | 0 | 2 | $100K |
| 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
Thunderstorm winds caused widespread damage to homes, trailers, barns, other structures, trees, and vehicles at the Oak Lane Hutterite colony south of Alexandria. Three people were injured when their trailer home was flipped and damaged.
September 10-12 brought up to 8.30 inches of rainfall at Alexandria, producing widespread areal flooding. The spillway at Hanson Lake washed out and damaged the roadway below the spillway. Numerous state, county and township roads were impassable due to water, including State Highway 42 east of Ethan. The property damage costs include estimates for public property losses. Flooding also resulted in crop losses across the area. Crop loss estimates provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
Major flooding of the James River, as well as flooding of small streams and lakes in the county, continued through April. Much farmland remained flooded, both near to and away from the James River. The James River was at its highest on April 1st, and fell very slowly during the month. A large area of land and numerous roads were flooded at the start of the month. Water was running over other roads, from flooded streams, creeks, and fields as well as from the James River. Many roads were heavily damaged. Some homes and businesses were also flooded, with the flooding of these places slowly alleviating through the month. High water and groundwater levels from record precipitation in the year 2010, a main reason the flooding onset was so fast in March, was also a main reason that the flooding subsided so slowly during April.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
3,472
Population (ACS)
$191K
Median home value
25
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 |
| Nov 18, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 23, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Rockport 119
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Hanson County, South Dakota?
244 events are on record between 1954 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $4.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Hanson County?
Hail, with 90 recorded events — 36.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Hanson 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 Hanson County?
25 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Hanson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Hanson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hanson County as very low risk, placing it in the 15 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Hanson 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
- Hand County 579
- Harding County 749
- Hamlin County 375
- Hughes County 512
- Haakon County 570
- Hutchinson County 473
Cite this page
“Hanson County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/hanson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.