Lake County, South Dakota severe weather history spans 334 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 44.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,584 nationally and #50 in South Dakota.
334
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$10.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Lake County, South Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Lake County, South Dakota severe weather history averages 4.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 125 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 35 events fall before 1990 and 299 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Lake County, South Dakota record is flash flood, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $2.9M 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 Lake County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 150 | 0 | $560K | 4 | 1958–2024 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 130 | 0 | $1.7M | 96 | 1958–2025 |
| Tornado | 24 | 0 | $2.9M | F3 | 1956–2021 |
| Flash Flood | 12 | 1 | $2.3M | 0 | 2005–2024 |
| Flood | 12 | 0 | $2.7M | 0 | 2008–2024 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $2K | 0 | 1996–2005 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2022 |
Decade by decade
Lake 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
28 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 27 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993-06-07 | EF4 | 0 | 4 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-06-07 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-06-07 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-06-07 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1970-06-15 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-07-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1992-08-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-05-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-05-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-06-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Lake County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 6, 2012 | Flash Flood | ORLAND | 1 | 0 | $2.0M |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Heavy rainfall of up to 6 inches caused flash flooding of numerous roads, parks, fields, other low areas, and buildings including homes. At least 90 homes were heavily damaged in Madison by the flooding, including at least two with basement walls washed out. A basement wall of a dentists business was also washed out and the basement flooded with 9 feet of water. Numerous personal possessions in flooded homes and businesses were destroyed. The flash flooding included Memorial Creek, and there was a fatality when an out of state visitor drowned when attempting to cross the flooded creek. While this fatality and most of the damage was in Madison, many rural roads and fields were flooded in the area, and east to near the town of Wentworth.
Heavy rain from September 10-12 (as much as 8.81 inches 2 miles north of Chester, 7.36 inches 4 miles west northwest of Rutland, and 7.01 inches 2 miles south of Winfred) led to widespread areal flooding. Flooding was most significant around Madison, where ponding waters led to the evacuation of 30 people by boat and payloader. As many as 200 residences were inundated by water in Madison. Highway 34 was closed both east and west of Madison, Highway 19 was closed south of Madison, and travel was not advised across most of the county with water over most township and county roads. Lake Herman State Park was closed due to high water and remained so for most of the month. No wake zones were established on Lake Madison, Lake Herman, and Brant Lake. Other flooding resulted in the loss of crops and damage to public infrastructure including numerous county and township roads, culverts, and some bridges. Property damage costs are rough estimates. Crop loss estimates provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
Rainfall amounts across Lake County from June 20-22 ranged from 3 to 9 inches. Overland flooding ensued with the majority of road damage to areas south of South Dakota Highway 34 and west of South Dakota Highway 19. County wide, nine homes reported minor to major flood damage with the majority of the impacts being water or sewer backup into basements. Preliminary damage assessments estimate loss to public infrastructure across the county to be in excess of 750 thousand dollars.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
10,972
Population (ACS)
$248K
Median home value
20
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
- Madison 116
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Lake County, South Dakota?
334 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $10.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Lake County?
Hail, with 150 recorded events — 44.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Lake County?
28 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 27 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Lake County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Lake County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Lake County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Lake County as very low risk, placing it in the 33 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Lake 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
- Kingsbury County 383
- Lawrence County 703
- Jones County 290
- Lincoln County 591
- Jerauld County 219
- Lyman County 605
Cite this page
“Lake County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/lake-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.