256
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$2K
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Hughes County, South Dakota: 256 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 86. That places the county #655 nationally and #13 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Hughes County, South Dakota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Hughes County is the 2010s, when 59 of the county's 256 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Hughes County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 50.0% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #655 for this hazard and #13 within South Dakota, putting it in the 79.2 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Hughes County with 99 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 22, 2025 | ROUSSEAU | 52 | $0 |
| Aug 22, 2025 | (PIR)PIERRE ARPT | 62 | $0 |
| Jul 27, 2025 | HARROLD ARPT | 55 | $0 |
| Jul 23, 2025 | ROUSSEAU | 50 | $0 |
| Jul 15, 2025 | (PIR)PIERRE ARPT | 71 | $0 |
| Jul 15, 2025 | (PIR)PIERRE ARPT | 71 | $0 |
| Jul 10, 2025 | CANNING | 51 | $0 |
| Jul 10, 2025 | HARROLD ARPT | 50 | $0 |
| Jul 10, 2025 | (PIR)PIERRE ARPT | 56 | $0 |
| Jun 29, 2025 | HARROLD ARPT | 58 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Hughes County
- Hail 210
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A horse trailer carrying two horses was pushed to the side by the high winds in southeast Hughes county. The leaning horse trailer caused the pickup pulling it to lift off the ground. The horse trailer hit the side of the pickup and damaged it.
Eighty mph winds or higher along with large hail damaged nearly every home and the school in Harrold from roofs to siding along with many broken windows. Also, several power poles were snapped off, branches and trees were downed, and a flag pole was bent over.
Winds of 70 to 75 mph brought down several trees and many branches throughout Pierre. The high winds in combination with the quarter size hail caused some damage to buildings and vehicles throughout Pierre. A building in downtown Pierre sustained extensive roof and structural damage due to the high winds.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Hughes County, South Dakota?
256 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Hughes County between 1956 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Hughes County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Hughes County measured 86.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Hughes County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Hughes County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/hughes-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.