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Tornadoes in South Dakota

South Dakota has recorded 1,945 tornadoes from 1950 through 2025, about 26.8 per year over the last 30 years. They killed 17 people and injured 495. June is the most active month.

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Map data: NWS, OpenFreeMap, OpenStreetMap

Tornadoes per year

96: 45964597: 30973098: 29982999: 41994100: 18001801: 31013102: 12021203: 81038104: 35043505: 19051906: 27062707: 42074208: 26082609: 34093410: 38103811: 19111912: 11121113: 13131314: 29142915: 24152416: 13161317: 15171518: 19181919: 25192520: 23202321: 21212122: 38223823: 18231824: 724725: 202520
South Dakota tornadoes per year, 1996–2025
50s: 9350s9360s: 26660s26670s: 27470s27480s: 29480s29490s: 36090s36000s: 32500s32510s: 20610s20620s: 12720s127
Tornadoes per decade (the 2020s are partial)

When tornadoes happen in South Dakota

Jan: 0JanFeb: 1Feb1Mar: 3Mar3Apr: 59Apr59May: 432May432Jun: 773Jun773Jul: 404Jul404Aug: 188Aug188Sep: 61Sep61Oct: 24Oct24Nov: 0NovDec: 0Dec
Tornadoes by month, 1950–2025
EF0: 1,174EF01,174EF1: 415EF1415EF2: 255EF2255EF3: 58EF358EF4: 9EF49EF5: 1EF51
Tornadoes by (E)F rating

Ratings before February 2007 use the original Fujita (F) scale; later tornadoes use the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale. How the EF scale works.

Deadliest tornadoes in South Dakota

DateRatingCountyPath lengthWidthDeathsInjuries
May 30, 1998F4Hanson County14 mi1,150 yd6150
June 7, 1965F4Yankton County7.8 mi647 yd10
June 21, 1961F3Brown County156.3 mi10 yd17
July 1, 1973F3Brown County0.3 mi30 yd13
June 20, 1957F2Spink County0.1 mi10 yd10
July 31, 1966F2Brown County2.3 mi253 yd13
July 14, 1970F2Lincoln County3.8 mi10 yd11
June 24, 1973F2Charles Mix County0.1 mi10 yd11
June 4, 1999F2—15 mi0 yd154
August 30, 2020EF2Hand County1.6 mi300 yd10

Strongest tornadoes in South Dakota

DateRatingCountyPath lengthWidthDeathsInjuries
May 8, 1965F5Tripp County30.1 mi1,760 yd01
May 30, 1998F4Hanson County14 mi1,150 yd6150
June 7, 1965F4Yankton County7.8 mi647 yd10
June 7, 1993F4Minnehaha County54 mi800 yd05
June 18, 2014EF4Jerauld County11.5 mi880 yd02
June 7, 1993F4Lake County10 mi500 yd04
June 24, 2003F4Kingsbury County10 mi1,000 yd04
June 23, 2002F4Brown County9 mi900 yd00
May 22, 2010EF4Walworth County5.7 mi1,200 yd00
July 7, 1969F4Harding County1.8 mi133 yd00

Most recent tornadoes

DateRatingCountyPath lengthWidthDeathsInjuries
September 14, 2025?Corson County0 mi1 yd00
September 14, 2025EF1Walworth County4 mi200 yd00
August 16, 2025EF0Hamlin County2.5 mi75 yd00
August 5, 2025?McPherson County0 mi5 yd00
July 28, 2025EF0Lincoln County3.3 mi30 yd00
July 28, 2025EF2Gregory County7.4 mi175 yd00
July 28, 2025EF0Gregory County2.7 mi50 yd00
July 28, 2025EF1Gregory County11.7 mi150 yd00
July 27, 2025EF2Codington County4 mi200 yd00
July 20, 2025?Todd County0.1 mi20 yd00

Counties with the most tornadoes

CountyTornadoes since 1950Per 1,000 sq mi
Brown County86130029188.6
Lincoln County60269324090.1
Minnehaha County51163680297.4
Pennington County5046633057.3
Spink County5086161011.3
Meade County4936562950.2
Hutchinson County48152915129.2
Kingsbury County48149423076.9
Turner County47197293354.9
Perkins County4641512195.1
Hand County4581106471.8
Charles Mix County45106244302.6
McCook County44198536585.4
Lyman County4367825822.2
Todd County4176450683.9
Miner County40181754386
Beadle County4082287529.8
Tripp County3861054590.6
Clark County37100031315.2
Deuel County37153820224.7

About this data

Tornado records come from the NOAA Storm Prediction Center database of confirmed tornadoes, 1950–2025. Tornadoes that crossed state lines are counted in the state where they began. Counts in the early decades are lower partly because many weak tornadoes went unreported before Doppler radar and storm spotter networks.