Davison County, South Dakota

What hazards hit Davison County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 184 since 1956. 66% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1956 fell in June and July. The rank column places the county among South Dakota's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has Davison County had?

NOAA records 24 tornadoes in Davison County from 1953 to 2015, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 36 injuries recorded in the county. That is 4th of 66 South Dakota counties by days with tornadoes per 1,000 square miles since 1950. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 24 tornadoes whose track touched Davison County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 24, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in South Dakota.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in Davison County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 20, 2024 flood ($9.6 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

Rainfall amounts across Davison County from June 20-22 ranged from 5 to 9 inches. Overland flooding ensued with additional major flooding along Firesteel Creek and the James River. County-wide, flood damages to roads ranged from gravel wash to more significant impacts involving erosion and culvert wash outs. One of the more significant road damages occurred along 255th St when a private dam failed and caused part of the road to give way. An estimated 4.24 million dollars of damage to public infrastructure was reported. Flood water also damaged around 149 homes and 9 businesses, resulting in an estimated loss of 5.42 million and 343 thousand dollars, respectively. In the city of Michell, flood waters required the evacuation of 44 trailers at two trailer courts. In addition, the city's wastewater treatment facility was damaged with an estimated cost of 250 thousand dollars. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1193436)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for Davison County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

High wind and dust storms in the 2020-26: 32 records against 7 in the decade before, 32 of them forecast-zone records. Drought in the 2020-26: 32 records against 10 in the decade before, 32 of them forecast-zone records. Cells marked z rose mostly through zone records. The local National Weather Service office files these once per forecast zone, so a change in how it draws its zones or splits a storm into records moves this count as much as the weather does; read it beside the Davison County days with a record above.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

66% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1956 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Davison County

FEMA's register lists 15 declarations that include Davison County: 12 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for flood (5) and severe storm (5).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has Davison County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 99 flood or flash flood records for Davison County from 1997 to 2024, on 91 days, with 1 death. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Davison County ranks 1907th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $2.0 million on 30 claims filed in Davison County; the most in one year was 10 in 2024. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for Davison County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Davison County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $13.2 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Davison County

1. Hutchinson County 832
2. Davison County 808
3. Sanborn County 649
4. Aurora County 645
5. Hanson County 566
6. Douglas County 547

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in South DakotaEvery South Dakota tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Severe thunderstorm wind in South DakotaThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, by county, year and month
• The South Dakota recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Davison CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Davison County's FEMA declarations (CSV)15 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis