Yankton County, South Dakota severe weather history spans 531 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The dominant hazard is hail, accounting for 47.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #780 nationally and #24 in South Dakota.
531
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$50.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Yankton County, South Dakota severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Yankton County, South Dakota severe weather history averages 7.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 182 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 89 events fall before 1990 and 442 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Yankton County, South Dakota record is lightning, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $32.9M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Yankton County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 252 | 0 | $10.5M | 2.75 | 1956–2025 |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 161 | 0 | $1.7M | 90 | 1959–2025 |
| Flood | 69 | 0 | $32.9M | 0 | 2007–2024 |
| Tornado | 29 | 0 | $5.6M | F4 | 1954–2014 |
| Flash Flood | 14 | 0 | $50K | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Lightning | 5 | 1 | $17K | 0 | 2001–2010 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2015–2015 |
Decade by decade
Yankton 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
34 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 29 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965-06-21 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 15.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1959-05-30 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-06-18 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-06-18 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 12.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-05-30 | EF2 | 1 | 2 | 26.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2007-05-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1985-04-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1985-04-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 35.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1985-04-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1972-08-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Yankton County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 20, 2003 | Lightning | MIDWAY | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 11, 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | YANKTON | 0 | 1 | $1K |
| May 5, 2007 | Tornado | YANKTON | 0 | 1 | $100K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Street flooding in numerous intersections within the city of Yankton. A high number of flooded basements also reported, especially along Marne Creek. Other flooding resulted in extensive damage to public infrastructure including numerous county and township roads, culverts, and some bridges.
Large hail, accompanied in places by damaging winds, destroyed or severely damaged crops in an area up to 10 miles wide from northwestern to southeastern Yankton County. Estimates from the Farm Service Agency were at least 48 thousand acres of corn, soybean, and alfalfa crops that were affected, some of which were totally destroyed. The hail also broke windows in buildings and vehicles, severely dented and even punched holes in numerous vehicles, and damaged siding and roofs of buildings. Property damage was especially great in and near the cities of Yankton and Gayville. Most of about 200 skylights in a Wal-Mart store in Yankton were broken beyond repair. Some of the windows in vehicles were completely broken and removed by the hail.
Large hail up to golf ball size, driven by strong to damaging winds, caused widespread property and crop damage in and near Yankton. Numerous windows were broken, both in structures and in vehicles, roofs and siding were damaged in several homes and businesses, and trees were stripped. Corn and other crops in the area were heavily damaged, with crops totally stripped in some areas. The amount of crop damage could not yet be determined.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
23,414
Population (ACS)
$226K
Median home value
16
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 15, 2024 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, 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 |
| May 13, 2011 | Flood | FLOODING | DR |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Yankton 176
- Jamesville 105
- Lesterville 104
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Yankton County, South Dakota?
531 events are on record between 1954 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $50.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Yankton County?
Hail, with 252 recorded events — 47.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Yankton County?
34 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 29 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Yankton County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Yankton County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Yankton County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Yankton County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 63 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Yankton 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
- Ziebach County 489
- Walworth County 410
- Union County 491
- Turner County 423
- Tripp County 595
- Todd County 567
Cite this page
“Yankton County, South Dakota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/south-dakota/yankton-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.