45
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
4
Direct injuries
$1.1M
Property damage
Tornado in Perkins County, South Dakota: 45 recorded events between 1957 and 2023. The strongest on record measured F2. That places the county #479 nationally and #7 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Tornado in Perkins County, South Dakota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for tornado in Perkins County is the 1980s, when 15 of the county's 45 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 Perkins County archive, tornado makes up 6.2% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #479 for this hazard and #7 within South Dakota, putting it in the 83.2 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jun is the peak month for tornado in Perkins County with 27 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-05-24 | EF2 | 22.9 mi | 440 yd | Touched down here |
| 2010-05-24 | EF2 | 8.2 mi | 440 yd | Touched down here |
| 1986-07-18 | EF2 | 10.5 mi | 140 yd | Touched down here |
| 1972-05-25 | EF2 | 2.0 mi | 50 yd | Touched down here |
| 1969-08-12 | EF2 | 6.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1969-07-17 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1968-06-20 | EF2 | 0.1 mi | 10 yd | Touched down here |
| 1964-08-01 | EF2 | 0.8 mi | 100 yd | Touched down here |
| 1992-07-07 | EF1 | 1.5 mi | 30 yd | Touched down here |
| 1991-05-14 | EF1 | 0.5 mi | 300 yd | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 1993 | W of Usta | F0 | 0 | 3 | $50K |
| Aug 12, 1969 | F2 | 0 | 1 | $25K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 22, 2023 | LEMMON | EF0 | $0 |
| May 23, 2021 | MEADOW | EFU | $0 |
| May 23, 2021 | USTA | EFU | $0 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | MEADOW | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | MEADOW | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | BISON | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | LODGEPOLE | EF0 | $0 |
| Jun 22, 2015 | LODGEPOLE | EF0 | $0 |
| May 24, 2010 | SHADEHILL | EF0 | $500 |
| May 24, 2010 | MEADOW | EF2 | $100K |
Other hazards here
More from Perkins County
- Hail 337
- Thunderstorm Wind 309
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 just southeast of the intersection of S.D. Highways 73 and 20 East. It destroyed the Progress Rural School and continued to track to the north, dissipating northwest of the intersection of S.D. Highways 73 and 20 West.
A tornado formed shortly after a previous tornado dissipated. This tornado touched down about ten miles south of Meadow and was on the ground for about seven minutes. No damage was reported as it traveled over open terrain.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many tornado events are on record in Perkins County, South Dakota?
45 tornado events are recorded in Perkins County between 1957 and 2023, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest tornado recorded in Perkins County?
The strongest tornado on record in Perkins County measured F2.
Where does the tornado data for Perkins 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 Perkins County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/perkins-county/tornado/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.