12,451
Recorded events
66
Counties affected
10
Direct deaths
$92.7M
Property damage
South Dakota thunderstorm wind history: 12,451 recorded events across 66 counties between 1955 and 2026.
Decade by decade
South Dakota thunderstorm wind history by decade
The 2010s are the busiest decade on record with 3,860 reported thunderstorm wind 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 thunderstorm wind events in South Dakota
| Rank | County | Events | Deaths | Damage | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Pennington County | 631 | 0 | $1.7M | 1958–2026 |
| #2 | Meade County | 603 | 0 | $2.8M | 1963–2026 |
| #3 | Brown County | 404 | 2 | $6K | 1955–2025 |
| #4 | Minnehaha County | 374 | 5 | $6.6M | 1956–2025 |
| #5 | Jackson County | 354 | 0 | $1.2M | 1974–2026 |
| #6 | Harding County | 346 | 0 | $306K | 1957–2025 |
| #7 | Butte County | 318 | 0 | $907K | 1979–2025 |
| #8 | Perkins County | 309 | 0 | $2.6M | 1962–2025 |
| #9 | Oglala Lakota County | 296 | 1 | $783K | 1981–2025 |
| #10 | Lyman County | 291 | 0 | $50K | 1957–2025 |
| #11 | Haakon County | 284 | 0 | $3.9M | 1957–2025 |
| #12 | Beadle County | 282 | 0 | $3.2M | 1955–2025 |
| #13 | Hughes County | 256 | 0 | $2K | 1956–2025 |
| #14 | Todd County | 253 | 0 | $846K | 1960–2025 |
| #15 | Tripp County | 246 | 0 | $963K | 1957–2025 |
| #16 | Fall River County | 235 | 0 | $2.0M | 1959–2025 |
| #17 | Corson County | 235 | 0 | $55K | 1957–2025 |
| #18 | Custer County | 229 | 0 | $180K | 1963–2026 |
| #19 | Ziebach County | 222 | 0 | $282K | 1972–2026 |
| #20 | Stanley County | 199 | 0 | $5.1M | 1965–2025 |
| #21 | Edmunds County | 199 | 0 | $50K | 1959–2025 |
| #22 | Lincoln County | 195 | 0 | $6.4M | 1956–2025 |
| #23 | Dewey County | 192 | 0 | $5K | 1959–2025 |
| #24 | Walworth County | 187 | 0 | $51K | 1960–2026 |
| #25 | Spink County | 187 | 0 | $5K | 1958–2025 |
Significant events
Deadliest thunderstorm wind events in South Dakota
| Date | County | Scale | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25, 1986 | Brown County | — | 2 | 5 |
| Jun 12, 1984 | Minnehaha County | — | 2 | 0 |
| Jun 20, 2015 | Buffalo County | — | 1 | 0 |
| Jun 21, 2013 | Hamlin County | — | 1 | 1 |
| May 7, 1993 | Minnehaha County | — | 1 | 1 |
| May 12, 2022 | Minnehaha County | — | 1 | 0 |
| May 12, 2022 | Minnehaha County | — | 1 | 0 |
| Apr 18, 2006 | Oglala Lakota County | — | 1 | 5 |
All hazards in South Dakota · Thunderstorm Wind across the U.S.