Meade County, South Dakota severe weather history spans 1,584 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 55.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #31 nationally and #2 in South Dakota.
1,584
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
57
Direct injuries
$15.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Meade County, South Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Meade County, South Dakota severe weather history averages 22.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 539 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 117 events fall before 1990 and 1,467 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flash flood, with $4.7M in reported property damage. In total, 10 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Meade County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 871 | 0 | $3.6M | 4.5 | 1955–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 603 | 0 | $2.8M | 103 | 1963–2026 |
| Tornado | 46 | 0 | $3.6M | F3 | 1965–2024 |
| Flood | 28 | 0 | $886K | 0 | 1998–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 21 | 0 | $4.7M | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2014–2019 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2003 |
| Wildfire | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2000 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2008 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $4K | 0 | 2004–2004 |
Decade by decade
Meade 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
55 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 54 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991-05-11 | EF3 | 0 | 20 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1965-07-18 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-06-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-06-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 19.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-05-24 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 22.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-07-12 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1991-05-11 | EF2 | 0 | 5 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-05-21 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-05-26 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2016-07-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Meade County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 12, 1991 | Tornado | 0 | 20 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 30, 1986 | Hail | 0 | 20 | $0 | |
| May 12, 1991 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $250K | |
| Jun 17, 1989 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| Aug 6, 2008 | Lightning | STURGIS | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Aug 2, 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | STURGIS | 0 | 2 | $500K |
| Aug 6, 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | STURGIS MUNI ARPT | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 21, 1999 | Hail | TILFORD | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Three to four inches of rain in an hour and three to five inches of rain in two hours over parts of northeastern Meade County caused rapid rises on small creeks and overland flooding of rural areas. The flooding compromised five culverts and a bridge on county roads.
Extensive flooding occurred along Bear Butte Creek in Boulder Canyon through Sturgis to Fort Meade. Highway 34 was covered with water at the S-curve between Sturgis and Fort Meade, the Sturgis city park was completely underwater, and the 7th Street bridge at Bear Butte Creek was inundated. The Sly Street crossing, West Woodland Drive, and Blanche Street were damaged, as well as almost all the other crossings over Bear Butte Creek in Sturgis.
Runoff from heavy rain on saturated ground caused flash flooding in the Sturgis, Fort Meade, and Pleasant Valley areas for the second time in a week. Several roads across Bear Butte Creek were covered with water or were washed out; including 7th Street, 9th Street, 15th Street, Raccoon Road, Sly Street, and SD Highway 34, Fort Meade Way, and Pleasant Valley Drive.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
30,546
Population (ACS)
$311K
Median home value
21
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Oct 7, 2019 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 23, 2019 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Feb 1, 2017 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | DR |
| Nov 8, 2013 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM, SNOWSTORM, AND FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Sturgis 145
- Piedmont 141
- Hereford 127
- Ellsworth Afb 118
- Black Hawk 115
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Meade County, South Dakota?
1,584 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $15.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Meade County?
Hail, with 871 recorded events — 55.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Meade County?
55 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 54 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Meade County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Meade County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Meade County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Meade County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 49 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Meade 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
- Marshall County 346
- Mellette County 303
- McPherson County 386
- Miner County 232
- McCook County 391
- Minnehaha County 1,164
Cite this page
“Meade County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/meade-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.