Hutchinson County, South Dakota severe weather history spans 473 recorded events between 1950 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 40.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #971 nationally and #32 in South Dakota.
473
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$11.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Hutchinson County, South Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Hutchinson County, South Dakota severe weather history averages 6.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 132 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 65 events fall before 1990 and 408 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is hail, with $4.1M 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 Hutchinson County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 189 | 0 | $4.1M | 4 | 1957–2026 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 141 | 0 | $1.9M | 93 | 1957–2025 |
| Flood | 84 | 0 | $3.5M | 0 | 2007–2024 |
| Tornado | 45 | 0 | $1.1M | F2 | 1950–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 9 | 0 | $1.0M | 0 | 2007–2020 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2019–2024 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $90K | 0 | 1998–2019 |
Decade by decade
Hutchinson 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
46 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 42 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965-06-26 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 35.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1993-05-07 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-06-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-06-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-07-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-06-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-05-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-05-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-05-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-05-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Hutchinson County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 5, 1998 | Lightning | PARKSTON | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Large hail caused widespread damage to vehicles, windows, and siding and roofs on homes. The hail also caused widespread crop damage, with over 66 thousand acres affected. Damage to both property and crops was estimated to be in the millions of dollars.
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 5.8 feet above flood stage northeast of Scotland 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.
Repeated heavy rain from thunderstorms caused widespread flash flooding in western Hutchinson County. Communities affected included Parkston and Tripp, with Parkston being especially hard hit. Numerous roads and homes were flooded, including up to 200 homes in Parkston. Parks and businesses were also flooded. In nearby rural areas, numerous fields were flooded, causing an unknown amount of crop damage. Small streams such as Pony Creek in Parkston flooded, adding to the damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
7,404
Population (ACS)
$163K
Median home value
24
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 |
| Jun 7, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Clayton 124
- Menno 114
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Hutchinson County, South Dakota?
473 events are on record between 1950 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $11.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Hutchinson County?
Hail, with 189 recorded events — 40.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Hutchinson County?
46 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 42 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Hutchinson County?
24 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Hutchinson County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Hutchinson County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hutchinson County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 48 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Hutchinson 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
- Hughes County 512
- Hyde County 315
- Harding County 749
- Jackson County 701
- Hanson County 244
- Jerauld County 219
Cite this page
“Hutchinson County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/hutchinson-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.