1,938
Recorded events
66
Counties affected
19
Direct deaths
$259.2M
Property damage
South Dakota tornado history: 1,938 recorded events across 66 counties between 1950 and 2025.
Decade by decade
South Dakota tornado history by decade
The 2000s are the busiest decade on record with 339 reported tornado 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 tornado events in South Dakota
| Rank | County | Events | Deaths | Damage | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Brown County | 84 | 2 | $4.2M | 1955–2025 |
| #2 | Lincoln County | 59 | 2 | $37.3M | 1954–2025 |
| #3 | Pennington County | 49 | 0 | $3.0M | 1953–2019 |
| #4 | Kingsbury County | 47 | 0 | $6.6M | 1959–2023 |
| #5 | Minnehaha County | 46 | 0 | $14.7M | 1956–2022 |
| #6 | Meade County | 46 | 0 | $3.6M | 1965–2024 |
| #7 | Charles Mix County | 45 | 1 | $2.8M | 1954–2019 |
| #8 | Hutchinson County | 45 | 0 | $1.1M | 1950–2024 |
| #9 | Perkins County | 45 | 0 | $1.1M | 1957–2023 |
| #10 | Turner County | 44 | 1 | $17.4M | 1954–2021 |
| #11 | Spink County | 43 | 1 | $178K | 1953–2025 |
| #12 | McCook County | 40 | 6 | $28.9M | 1953–2022 |
| #13 | Hand County | 40 | 1 | $2.9M | 1959–2023 |
| #14 | Lyman County | 40 | 0 | $283K | 1960–2025 |
| #15 | Todd County | 40 | 0 | $1.6M | 1960–2025 |
| #16 | Beadle County | 38 | 0 | $18.6M | 1953–2022 |
| #17 | Deuel County | 36 | 0 | $73K | 1970–2025 |
| #18 | Clark County | 36 | 1 | $3.4M | 1953–2023 |
| #19 | Tripp County | 35 | 0 | $2.7M | 1957–2020 |
| #20 | Miner County | 35 | 0 | $2.9M | 1962–2020 |
| #21 | Codington County | 34 | 0 | $7.8M | 1951–2025 |
| #22 | Day County | 32 | 0 | $2.7M | 1953–2022 |
| #23 | Brookings County | 32 | 0 | $3.1M | 1965–2023 |
| #24 | Roberts County | 32 | 1 | $3.0M | 1951–2023 |
| #25 | Clay County | 31 | 0 | $2.7M | 1965–2021 |
Significant events
Deadliest tornado events in South Dakota
| Date | County | Scale | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 1998 | McCook County | F4 | 6 | 150 |
| Aug 1, 1966 | McPherson County | F3 | 2 | 4 |
| Jul 14, 1970 | Lincoln County | F2 | 1 | 1 |
| Aug 1, 1966 | Brown County | F2 | 1 | 3 |
| Jul 1, 1973 | Brown County | F3 | 1 | 3 |
| Jun 5, 1999 | Oglala Lakota County | F2 | 1 | 54 |
| Jun 25, 1973 | Charles Mix County | F2 | 1 | 1 |
| Jun 20, 1979 | Roberts County | F1 | 1 | 0 |
| Jun 21, 1961 | Clark County | F3 | 1 | 7 |
| Jun 21, 1957 | Spink County | F2 | 1 | 0 |