Severe Weather History


South Dakota Flash Flood History: 831 Recorded Events

831

Recorded events

66

Counties affected

4

Direct deaths

$54.3M

Property damage

South Dakota flash flood history: 831 recorded events across 66 counties between 1996 and 2025.

Decade by decade

South Dakota flash flood history by decade

South Dakota flash flood history: recorded events per decade
South Dakota flash flood history: recorded events per decade

The 2010s are the busiest decade on record with 371 reported flash flood events across South Dakota. Earlier decades are thinner because systematic reporting for this hazard expanded over time, not because the weather was calmer.

County ranking

Counties with the most flash flood events in South Dakota

RankCountyEventsDeathsDamageSpan
#1Minnehaha County670$17.2M2001–2025
#2Lincoln County360$1.9M2001–2024
#3Pennington County320$4.6M1996–2022
#4Brookings County280$665K2002–2024
#5Hand County230$361K2005–2024
#6Brown County220$5.2M1999–2025
#7Meade County210$4.7M1996–2023
#8Custer County210$4.4M1996–2023
#9Charles Mix County200$1.1M1997–2024
#10Clay County190$01999–2024
#11Union County190$01999–2025
#12Davison County190$550K2002–2024
#13Hamlin County180$100K1997–2025
#14Edmunds County170$10K1999–2022
#15Fall River County160$130K2003–2018
#16Dewey County140$110K1997–2017
#17Perkins County140$380K1997–2023
#18Grant County140$310K2005–2018
#19Corson County140$01997–2021
#20Lawrence County140$1.2M1996–2024
#21Yankton County140$50K1998–2024
#22Douglas County130$135K1997–2020
#23Hughes County130$280K1999–2024
#24Bon Homme County130$50K1999–2019
#25Ziebach County130$1.4M1997–2023
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events · ranked by recorded event count

Significant events

Deadliest flash flood events in South Dakota

DateCountyScaleDeathsInjuries
Jun 21, 2011Lyman County—20
Jun 17, 2014Butte County—11
May 6, 2012Lake County—10
Source: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events · dates UTC

All hazards in South Dakota · Flash Flood across the U.S.