Haakon County, South Dakota

What hazards hit Haakon County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 286 since 1957. 64% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1957 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 Haakon County had?

NOAA records 26 tornadoes in Haakon County from 1952 to 2022, the strongest rated F2, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. 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 30 tornadoes whose track touched Haakon County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 26: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); 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 Haakon County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the December 25, 2016 blizzard (1 death and $369,000 in damage in 2025 dollars).

An intense storm system moved across the Northern Plains, producing snow and strong winds across much of western South Dakota. Areas of freezing rain, freezing drizzle, sleet, and snow developed over the area in the morning, before changing to snow. Snowfall was heaviest during the late afternoon and nighttime hours. Four to eight inches of snow were reported across much of western South Dakota, with local amounts as much as a foot. Little or no snow fell across south central South Dakota, where temperatures were warm enough for mostly rain. Embedded thunder was also noted with the precipitation. Strong winds developed late in the day and continued into the next morning, with blizzard conditions across much of the western South Dakota plains. Interstate 90 was closed for a prolonged period from the Wyoming border to Chamberlain. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 665755)

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

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 Haakon 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).

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

What time of year?

64% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1957 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 Haakon County

FEMA's register lists 16 declarations that include Haakon County: 13 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (7) and flood (3).

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 Haakon County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 32 flood or flash flood records for Haakon County from 1996 to 2023, on 27 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Haakon County ranks 2756th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $0 on 2 claims filed in Haakon County; the most in one year was 1 in 1999. 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 Haakon County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Haakon County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $4.3 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 Haakon County

1. Pennington County 3,309
2. Meade County 2,685
3. Jackson County 959
4. Haakon County 843
5. Dewey County 814
6. Ziebach County 738
7. Stanley County 703
8. Jones County 540

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 Haakon CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Haakon County's FEMA declarations (CSV)16 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis