Jackson County, South Dakota

What hazards hit Jackson County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 360 since 1974. 64% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1974 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 Jackson County had?

NOAA records 20 tornadoes in Jackson County from 1964 to 2025, the strongest rated EF2, with 0 deaths and 2 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 22 tornadoes whose track touched Jackson County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 20: 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 Jackson County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 28, 2025 tornado (2 injuries).

The tornado touched down 100 yards west of the Highway 73 White River Bridge. As the tornado moved to the southeast in the river valley, the first residence that suffered significant damage was just east of Highway 73, on County Road 29. This home suffered partial exterior wall collapse, with most of the roof structure gone. Additionally, mature Cottonwood trees were snapped at this location. As the tornado continued to move east-southeast down the river valley, it encountered house number 2, also on County Road 29. Several outbuildings were destroyed at this location, along with mature Cottonwood trees that were snapped and partially debarked. The 3rd residence, located along County Road 80, or Red Stone Rd, was a new manufactured home that suffered complete destruction. Two individuals were in the home at the time and suffered minor injuries. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1272931)

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 Jackson 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 1974 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 Jackson County

FEMA's register lists 22 declarations that include Jackson County: 19 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (10) 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.

FEMA's modeled risk for Jackson County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Jackson County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $2.6 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 Jackson County

1. Pennington County 3,309
2. Jackson County 959
3. Haakon County 843
4. Todd County 777
5. Bennett County 605
6. Jones County 540
7. Mellette County 488

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 Jackson CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Jackson County's FEMA declarations (CSV)22 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis