49
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
10
Direct injuries
$3.0M
Property damage
Tornado in Pennington County, South Dakota: 49 recorded events between 1953 and 2019. The strongest on record measured F2. That places the county #400 nationally and #3 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Pennington County, South Dakota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Pennington County is the 1990s, when 12 of the county's 49 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, tornado makes up 2.0% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #400 for this hazard and #3 within South Dakota, putting it in the 86.5 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for tornado in Pennington County with 15 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.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
| Date | Scale | Path length | Max width | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-06-13 | EF2 | 7.4 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 1994-06-07 | EF2 | 10.0 mi | 800 yd | Touched down here |
| 1968-06-20 | EF2 | 13.1 mi | 100 yd | Crossed in |
| 1967-06-18 | EF2 | 1.0 mi | 150 yd | Touched down here |
| 1966-07-23 | EF2 | 3.8 mi | 440 yd | Touched down here |
| 2019-07-04 | EF1 | 1.2 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 2019-07-04 | EF1 | 1.7 mi | 250 yd | Touched down here |
| 2019-07-04 | EF1 | 0.3 mi | 200 yd | Touched down here |
| 2014-05-27 | EF1 | 2.2 mi | 300 yd | Touched down here |
| 2013-08-11 | EF1 | 1.3 mi | 30 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 23, 1966 | F2 | 0 | 5 | $25K | |
| Jun 18, 1967 | F2 | 0 | 3 | $2.5M | |
| Jun 15, 1962 | F1 | 0 | 2 | $3K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 5, 2019 | DEERFIELD | EF1 | $0 |
| Jul 5, 2019 | ROCHFORD | EF1 | $0 |
| Jul 5, 2019 | DEERFIELD | EF1 | $0 |
| Jun 13, 2016 | HAYWARD | EF2 | $100K |
| May 27, 2014 | SILVER CITY | EF1 | $0 |
| Aug 11, 2013 | HILL CITY | EF1 | $25K |
| May 10, 2011 | CREIGHTON | EF0 | $50K |
| Jun 20, 2010 | WALL MUNI ARPT | EF0 | $2K |
| Jul 8, 2009 | DEERFIELD | EF1 | $1K |
| Jun 11, 2008 | DEERFIELD | EF1 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Pennington County
- Hail 1,614
- Thunderstorm Wind 631
- Flood 44
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado touched down about three miles northwest of Hermosa and tracked northeastward for about 12 minutes, dissipating about six miles northeast of Hermosa. Numerous pine trees were snapped along Murphy Road where the tornado initially formed. Several power poles were snapped where it crossed Highway 79. Several homes were badly damaged and many outbuildings were destroyed as the tornado passed through the Spring Creek Acres subdivision.
A small tornado touched down south of Hill City near the Mickelson Trail. It continued to the south, crossing the Needles Highway (SD Highway 87) east of US Highway 16/385. The tornado blew down and snapped numerous large Ponderosa Pine trees and blew a few shingles off a house. The trees fell onto power lines, which caused the poles to fall.
A weak tornado caused minor tree damage in a windbreak on the west side of Wall. Other trees were blown down across the north side of town and a travel trailer was blown over along Creighton Road on the east side of town.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Pennington County, South Dakota?
49 tornado events are recorded in Pennington County between 1953 and 2019, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Pennington County?
The strongest tornado on record in Pennington County measured F2.
Where does the tornado 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
“Tornado in Pennington County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/pennington-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.