Tornado Risk in South Dakota

All South Dakota counties ranked by FEMA National Risk Index tornado score

Tornado risk — violently rotating columns of air capable of catastrophic local damage — is rated for 66 of 66 South Dakota counties in FEMA's National Risk Index. Minnehaha County carries the state's highest tornado score at 98.4, with $36M in expected annual tornado losses.

2 South Dakota counties are rated High or Very High for tornado, and expected annual losses from tornado total roughly $122M statewide. The full ranking below links to each county's complete 18-hazard risk profile.

County Rankings — Tornado

#CountyTornado ScoreRatingAnn. Freq.Ann. Loss
1 Minnehaha County
98.4
High 0.67 / yr $36M
2 Lincoln County
93.3
High 0.49 / yr $17M
3 Yankton County
86.7
Medium 0.40 / yr $5M
4 Brookings County
80.3
Medium 0.52 / yr $6M
5 Codington County
77.0
Medium 0.42 / yr $4M
6 Davison County
75.5
Medium 0.26 / yr $3M
7 Lake County
73.0
Medium 0.43 / yr $3M
8 Brown County
70.1
Medium 0.80 / yr $3M
9 Union County
69.2
Medium 0.40 / yr $3M
10 McCook County
67.5
Medium 0.42 / yr $4M
11 Hutchinson County
65.1
Medium 0.55 / yr $3M
12 Beadle County
64.6
Low 0.67 / yr $2M
13 Turner County
64.3
Low 0.50 / yr $3M
14 Moody County
62.9
Low 0.41 / yr $2M
15 Pennington County
61.0
Low 0.58 / yr $2M
16 Clay County
60.2
Low 0.35 / yr $3M
17 Charles Mix County
55.3
Low 0.60 / yr $1M
18 Roberts County
50.4
Low 0.70 / yr $920K
19 Hanson County
43.5
Low 0.29 / yr $710K
20 Todd County
41.7
Low 0.40 / yr $495K
21 Oglala Lakota County
40.9
Low 0.60 / yr $473K
22 Day County
40.6
Low 0.59 / yr $695K
23 Lawrence County
37.8
Low 0.16 / yr $794K
24 Tripp County
37.7
Low 0.55 / yr $553K
25 Douglas County
37.1
Low 0.24 / yr $915K
26 Brule County
35.1
Low 0.35 / yr $637K
27 Hamlin County
34.8
Low 0.32 / yr $980K
28 Grant County
34.6
Low 0.43 / yr $1M
29 Kingsbury County
34.4
Low 0.51 / yr $1M
30 Spink County
34.0
Low 0.75 / yr $930K
31 Meade County
33.6
Low 0.62 / yr $859K
32 Bon Homme County
33.2
Low 0.39 / yr $881K
33 Deuel County
32.4
Low 0.39 / yr $870K
34 Aurora County
32.3
Low 0.36 / yr $663K
35 Marshall County
32.1
Low 0.49 / yr $591K
36 Fall River County
29.6
Low 0.45 / yr $336K
37 Gregory County
29.0
Low 0.42 / yr $576K
38 Walworth County
27.7
Low 0.23 / yr $367K
39 Lyman County
27.6
Low 0.57 / yr $297K
40 Sanborn County
26.8
Low 0.32 / yr $598K
41 Hughes County
26.7
Low 0.24 / yr $638K
42 Miner County
26.6
Low 0.38 / yr $733K
43 Dewey County
24.4
Very Low 0.54 / yr $192K
44 McPherson County
24.0
Very Low 0.46 / yr $242K
45 Corson County
23.6
Very Low 0.57 / yr $194K
46 Butte County
23.3
Very Low 0.38 / yr $318K
47 Edmunds County
23.1
Very Low 0.46 / yr $445K
48 Clark County
22.8
Very Low 0.54 / yr $436K
49 Custer County
22.1
Very Low 0.37 / yr $396K
50 Jerauld County
21.8
Very Low 0.27 / yr $255K
51 Faulk County
21.1
Very Low 0.41 / yr $173K
52 Buffalo County
20.2
Very Low 0.19 / yr $179K
53 Hand County
20.2
Very Low 0.63 / yr $299K
54 Mellette County
19.4
Very Low 0.35 / yr $133K
55 Jackson County
18.7
Very Low 0.45 / yr $114K
56 Bennett County
18.5
Very Low 0.33 / yr $121K
57 Potter County
17.9
Very Low 0.29 / yr $224K
58 Hyde County
17.8
Very Low 0.31 / yr $150K
59 Sully County
14.6
Very Low 0.33 / yr $201K
60 Campbell County
14.3
Very Low 0.23 / yr $192K
61 Jones County
11.9
Very Low 0.26 / yr $125K
62 Perkins County
11.6
Very Low 0.45 / yr $116K
63 Ziebach County
11.1
Very Low 0.34 / yr $42K
64 Stanley County
10.9
Very Low 0.35 / yr $107K
65 Haakon County
8.2
Very Low 0.34 / yr $42K
66 Harding County
8.2
Very Low 0.34 / yr $64K

66 South Dakota counties with measurable tornado risk. See the national tornado ranking or all South Dakota counties by overall risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which South Dakota county has the highest tornado risk?

Minnehaha County has the highest FEMA tornado risk score in South Dakota at 98.4 (High), with $36M in expected annual losses and about 0.67 events per year.

How many South Dakota counties face significant tornado risk?

66 South Dakota counties record measurable tornado risk in FEMA's National Risk Index; 2 of them are rated High or Very High.

Other Hazards in South Dakota

Avalanche Cold Wave Drought Earthquake Hail Heat Wave Ice Storm Riverine Flood Landslide Lightning Strong Wind Wildfire Winter Weather