189
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$2.2M
Property damage
Hail in McCook County, South Dakota: 189 recorded events between 1959 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 4.5. That places the county #680 nationally and #38 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Hail in McCook County, South Dakota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for hail in McCook County is the 2000s, when 78 of the county's 189 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 McCook County archive, hail makes up 48.3% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #680 for this hazard and #38 within South Dakota, putting it in the 78.1 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for hail in McCook County with 50 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 6, 2025 | UNITYVILLE | 1.75 | $0 |
| Jul 10, 2025 | CANISTOTA | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 1, 2024 | CANISTOTA | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 30, 2024 | SALEM | 0.88 | $0 |
| Jul 30, 2024 | SALEM | 1.75 | $0 |
| Jun 12, 2024 | CANISTOTA | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 12, 2024 | CANISTOTA | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 11, 2023 | BRIDGEWATER | 1.5 | $0 |
| Jul 22, 2023 | SALEM | 1.5 | $0 |
| Jul 22, 2023 | SALEM | 2.5 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from McCook County
- Thunderstorm Wind 126
- Tornado 40
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Widespread golf ball to baseball-size hail fell with some softball size hail reported. The hail broke windows and caused other damage to all homes and unprotected vehicles in Salem, including 150 cars at a dealership. Severe damage occurred to crops in the area.
A three to five mile wide swath of hail caused widespread crop damage, as well as many broken windows and vehicle damage. Strong winds tore roofs off of several sheds, blew down a wall and signs in Bridgewater, and broke tree limbs.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many hail events are on record in McCook County, South Dakota?
189 hail events are recorded in McCook County between 1959 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest hail recorded in McCook County?
The strongest hail on record in McCook County measured 4.5.
Where does the hail data for McCook 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
“Hail in McCook County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/mccook-county/hail/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.