631
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$1.7M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Pennington County, South Dakota: 631 recorded events between 1958 and 2026. The strongest on record measured 150. That places the county #50 nationally and #1 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Pennington County, South Dakota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Pennington County is the 2010s, when 238 of the county's 631 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 Pennington County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 26.2% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #50 for this hazard and #1 within South Dakota, putting it in the 98.5 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Pennington County with 228 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.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 11, 1991 | 61 | 0 | 2 | $0 | |
| Jul 16, 2016 | RAPID CITY | 50 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 10, 1996 | RAPID CITY | 62 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 6, 1988 | 65 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 22, 2026 | WALL | 64 | $0 |
| Apr 22, 2026 | WASTA | 56 | $0 |
| Apr 22, 2026 | WASTA | 61 | $0 |
| Apr 22, 2026 | WASTA | 51 | $0 |
| Apr 22, 2026 | WASTA | 50 | $0 |
| Apr 22, 2026 | SCENIC | 59 | $0 |
| Apr 22, 2026 | WASTA | 66 | $0 |
| Apr 22, 2026 | WASTA | 51 | $0 |
| Apr 22, 2026 | SCENIC | 64 | $0 |
| Sep 11, 2025 | RAPID CITY | 56 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Pennington County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Wind gusted to 58 mph as a thunderstorm moved across the Rapid City Airport were there was some storm damage done to trees. A United Express flight # 7462 was struck by lightning enroute to Rapid City, South Dakota from Denver County, causing a loss of navigational equipment. The flight diverted to Casper, Wyoming.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Pennington County, South Dakota?
631 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Pennington County between 1958 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Pennington County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Pennington County measured 150.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Pennington 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
“Thunderstorm Wind in Pennington County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/pennington-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.