Hughes County, South Dakota

What hazards hit Hughes County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 263 since 1956. 71% 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 Hughes County had?

NOAA records 12 tornadoes in Hughes County from 1963 to 2003, the strongest rated F3, with 0 deaths and 10 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 17 tornadoes whose track touched Hughes County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 12: 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 Hughes County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the March 5, 2023 winter weather (1 injury).

A one-vehicle rollover crash east of Pierre on Highway 14 around 7:30 am on March 6th resulted in serious, non-life threatening injuries. The driver lost control due to slush on the road surface.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1090671)

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 Hughes 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?

71% 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 Hughes County

FEMA's register lists 17 declarations that include Hughes County: 14 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (7) and flood (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 Hughes County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 35 flood or flash flood records for Hughes County from 1997 to 2024, on 33 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Hughes County ranks 1378th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $695,000 on 88 claims filed in Hughes County; the most in one year was 45 in 2011. 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 Hughes County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Hughes County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $9.9 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 Hughes County

1. Lyman County 927
2. Hughes County 801
3. Stanley County 703
4. Hyde County 568
5. Sully County 525

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 Hughes CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Hughes County's FEMA declarations (CSV)17 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis