Moody County, South Dakota severe weather history spans 323 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 37.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,647 nationally and #51 in South Dakota.
323
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
1
Direct injuries
$4.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Moody County, South Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Moody County, South Dakota severe weather history averages 4.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 113 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 30 events fall before 1990 and 293 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $1.9M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Moody County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 121 | 0 | $375K | 2.75 | 1959–2023 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 96 | 0 | $1.9M | 87 | 1956–2025 |
| Flood | 87 | 0 | $1.8M | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Tornado | 10 | 0 | $513K | F2 | 1956–2008 |
| Lightning | 5 | 0 | $101K | 0 | 1998–2011 |
| Flash Flood | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2019 |
Decade by decade
Moody 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
14 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 8 touched down inside it and 6 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 | 5 | 54.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1993-06-07 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1993-06-07 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1992-06-16 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1956-06-29 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 18.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2008-06-05 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-09-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1993-05-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 15.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-06-24 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-05-05 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Moody County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 30, 1956 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $3K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Thunderstorm winds caused widespread damage in the south part of Flandreau. Roofs on homes, apartment buildings, and other buildings were blown off or damaged. The roof of a large church was blown off, and parts of the roof damaged nearby homes. The Flandreau city office building had part of its south wall blown off, resulting in interior damage to ceiling tiles and insulation. Siding on other walls of this building and on numerous homes was damaged. Tree damage was widespread, including several trees blown down or uprooted. The winds blew down power lines, leaving parts of the city without power for almost three hours.
Flooding resulted in some crop loss and extensive damage to public infrastructure including numerous county and township roads, culverts, and some bridges. The property damage costs include estimates for public property losses. Crop loss estimates provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
A tornado touched down intermittently on a northeast path through Moody County causing various kinds of damage. South of Colman the tornado hit a farm killing 23 pigs, damaging tractors and equipment, and moving the rafters in a house. At 659 PM CDT the tornado was sighted by spotters one one-half mile southwest of Colman. South of Egan high winds destroyed a garage. At 710 PM CDT a 30,000 lb. semi-truck traveling west on SD highway 34 became temporarily airborne and was thrown into the ditch damaging the truck beyond repair but not hurting the driver. At 725 PM CDT the tornado hit a farm two miles west of Ward shearing off the top of a silo, and damaging the barn and garage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
6,397
Population (ACS)
$227K
Median home value
21
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
- Flandreau 350
- Trent 113
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Moody County, South Dakota?
323 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $4.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Moody County?
Hail, with 121 recorded events — 37.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Moody County?
14 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 8 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Moody County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Moody County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Moody County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Moody County as very low risk, placing it in the 27 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Moody 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
- Oglala Lakota County 676
- Minnehaha County 1,164
- Pennington County 2,406
- Miner County 232
- Perkins County 727
- Mellette County 303
Cite this page
“Moody County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/moody-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.