Jones County, South Dakota
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 46075 · population 917 · 970 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 540 records for Jones County, South Dakota from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 416 days; the most frequent are hail reports (140 records). The most damaging was the June 1, 2019 flood ($3.3 million in 2025 dollars). FEMA has issued 15 declarations naming the county since 1976, 13 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm” on February 27, 2023.
The record, 1950 to 2026
Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $100,000
- $100,000 or more
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more, or a death
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
- 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
- Storm records
- 540on 416 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 03 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $3.6Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 8strongest EF2
- FEMA declarations
- 15latest 2023
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.
What hazards hit Jones County most?
The most frequent records are hail reports: 140 since 1960. 64% of its hail reports since 1960 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.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 140 | 92 | 1960-2026 | 0 | 0 | $10K | 50 of 66 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 126 | 82 | 1959-2024 | 0 | 3 | – | 52 of 66 |
| Winter storms | 95 | 94 | 1996-2025 | 0 | 0 | $12K | 44 of 66 |
| High wind and dust storms | 69 | 68 | 1996-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 32 of 66 |
| Drought | 45 | 45 | 2002-2025 | 0 | 0 | – | 26 of 66 |
| Floods | 26 | 25 | 1997-2024 | 0 | 0 | $3.4M | 33 of 66 |
| Extreme cold | 18 | 18 | 1996-2025 | 0 | 0 | – | 46 of 66 |
| Heat | 9 | 9 | 2006-2024 | 0 | 0 | – | 38 of 66 |
| Tornadoes | 8 | 7 | 1971-2022 | 0 | 0 | $184K | 60 of 66 |
| Wildfires | 4 | 4 | 2000-2025 | 0 | 0 | – | 4 of 66 |
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 Jones County had?
NOAA records 8 tornadoes in Jones County from 1971 to 2022, the strongest rated EF2, 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 8 tornadoes whose track touched Jones County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 8, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in South Dakota.
Every tornado record filed for Jones County (8)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-06-12 | Okaton, Jones County | EF2 0.48 mi x 30 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2022-06-12 | Okaton, Jones County | EF2 3.89 mi x 80 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1999-06-04 | Murdo, Jones County | F0 3 mi x 15 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1991-05-29 | Jones County | F0 0.5 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1986-09-24 | Jones County | F0 0.1 mi x 40 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 1982-07-18 | Jones County | F0 0.1 mi x 10 yd | 0 | 0 | $30 step |
| 1975-05-07 | Jones County | F1 | 0 | 0 | $250 step |
| 1971-06-04 | Jones County | F2 | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
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, 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 Jones County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the June 1, 2019 flood ($3.3 million in damage in 2025 dollars).
Spring snowmelt and heavy rain flooding from March, April, and May continued into June. This combined with above normal June rainfall resulted in hundreds of thousands of acres of crops damaged or unplanted across central and northeast South Dakota. For the entire state of South Dakota, nearly 4 million acres of crops were left unplanted as a result of the flooding. Total damaged or unplanted crop loss estimates for central and northeast South Dakota were near 307 million dollars.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 863667)
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-29 | HailVan Metre, Jones County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailOkaton, Jones County | 1.50 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-04 | HailMurdo, Jones County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-03 | HailDraper, Jones County | 0.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-04-22 | HailOkaton, Jones County | 0.88 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-03-12 | High WindJones County · forecast zone Jones | 56 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-02-18 | High WindJones County · forecast zone Jones | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-01-21 | High WindJones County · forecast zone Jones | 56 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-01-16 | High WindJones County · forecast zone Jones | 61 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-12-18 | High WindJones County · forecast zone Jones | 65 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-11-25 | High WindJones County · forecast zone Jones | 52 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2025-07-26 | WildfireJones County · forecast zone Jones | 0 | 0 | – |
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
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-07-22 | Thunderstorm WindOkaton, Jones County Estimated seventy mph winds blew a semi truck and camper over on Interstate-90 west northwest of Okaton with some minor injuries. Part of the interstate was closed for a time to clean up the debris. | 61 kt wind | 0 | 2 | – |
| 1988-05-06 | Thunderstorm WindJones County | 0 | 1 | – |
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-06-01 | FloodCapa, Jones County | 0 | 0 | $3.3M |
Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $25K, in the dollars of the day) holds: June 4, 1971 (tornado, Jones County).
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 Jones 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).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 0 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 12 | 43 | 40 | 30 |
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 70 | 26 |
| Winter storms | – | – | – | – | 14 | 30 | 35 | 16 |
| High wind and dust storms | – | – | – | – | 8 | 16 | 20 | 25 |
| Drought | – | – | – | – | 0 | 12 | 16 | 17 |
| Floods | – | – | – | – | 7 | 2 | 14 | 3 |
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 hail reports since 1960 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 36 · Feb 32 · Mar 40 · Apr 29 · May 39 · Jun 112 · Jul 95 · Aug 61 · Sep 12 · Oct 22 · Nov 23 · Dec 39 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Jones County
FEMA's register lists 15 declarations that include Jones County: 12 major disasters, 3 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for severe storm (5) and flood (4).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-02-27 | DR-4689 | Winter Storm | Severe Winter Storms and Snowstorm |
| 2022-08-02 | DR-4664 | Severe Storm | Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding |
| 2020-04-05 | DR-4527 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3475 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2019-09-23 | DR-4463 | Flood | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 2019-06-07 | DR-4440 | Flood | Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding |
| 2017-02-01 | DR-4298 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm |
| 2015-07-30 | DR-4233 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding |
| 2010-03-09 | DR-1886 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm |
| 2005-09-10 | EM-3234 | Coastal Storm | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 1997-04-07 | DR-1173 | Flood | Severe Flooding, Sever Winter Storms,Heavy Rains High Winds |
| 1997-01-10 | DR-1156 | Severe Storm | Severe Winter Storms and Blizzard Conditions |
| 1995-05-26 | DR-1052 | Flood | Flooding |
| 1995-03-14 | DR-1045 | Snowstorm | Severe Winter Storms |
| 1976-06-17 | EM-3015 | Drought | Drought |
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 Jones County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Jones County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $2.1 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.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | $247K | once in about 923 years (modeled) |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | $61K | 16 a year (modeled) |
| Drought | Relatively Low | $62K | 33 modeled event-days a year |
| Ice Storm | Relatively Low | $48K | once in about 2 years (modeled) |
| Cold Wave | Very Low | $356K | 5.7 a year (modeled) |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | $154K | 2.8 a year (modeled) |
| Hail | Very Low | $60K | 3.1 a year (modeled) |
| Tornado | Very Low | $125K | once in about 4 years (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Jones County
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
- Hail in South DakotaThe state's hail reports, 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 Jones CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Jones County's FEMA declarations (CSV)15 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis