Harding County, South Dakota severe weather history spans 749 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 47.7% of all recorded events. It ranks #348 nationally and #6 in South Dakota.
749
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$1.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Harding County, South Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Harding County, South Dakota severe weather history averages 11.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 301 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 32 events fall before 1990 and 717 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $610K 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 Harding County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 357 | 0 | $251K | 4.25 | 1962–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 346 | 0 | $306K | 91 | 1957–2025 |
| Tornado | 22 | 0 | $68K | F4 | 1957–2018 |
| Flood | 14 | 0 | $610K | 0 | 2008–2019 |
| Flash Flood | 5 | 0 | $100K | 0 | 2009–2016 |
| Wildfire | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2000 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2016–2016 |
Decade by decade
Harding 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
21 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969-07-07 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-06-28 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 3.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-06-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-06-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2018-06-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-06-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2011-07-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 9.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-06-20 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1962-08-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 10.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-06-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 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
Record flooding occurred on the Little Missouri River from the Montana state line southwest of Camp Crook to the North Dakota state line. Homes and rural roads along the river were inundated. The river gage crested at a record stage of 19.27 feet, which is 7.27 feet over flood stage, exceeding the stage of 17.67 feet set in 2009. The highest flow was 19,400 cubic feet per second.
Runoff from heavy rain caused minor flooding throughout Harding County. Minor flooding was reported along the upper portions of the Grand River; Little Missouri River; and around Buffalo, Reva, and Ladner. The Little Missouri River crested a little over two feet above flood stage at the SD Highway 20 bridge on May 23, with a peak flow just over 5000 cfs.
Three to five inches of rain caused significant flooding along Alkali Creek, Rabbit Creek, and the South Fork of the Moreau River and their tributaries. Several roads were flooded, including Jefferson Road southeast of Reva, Harding Road, and Camp Crook Road.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
1,148
Population (ACS)
$166K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | 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 |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Reva 121
- Ladner 111
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Harding County, South Dakota?
749 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $1.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Harding County?
Hail, with 357 recorded events — 47.7% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Harding County?
21 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 19 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Harding County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Harding County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Harding County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Harding County as very low risk, placing it in the 1 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Harding 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
- Hanson County 244
- Hughes County 512
- Hand County 579
- Hutchinson County 473
- Hamlin County 375
- Hyde County 315
Cite this page
“Harding County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/harding-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.