South Dakota hail
Every recorded hail report since 1955 · 66 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 17,011 hail reports in South Dakota from 1955 through June 30, 2026, about 522 a year since 2000. The costliest was the August 30, 2013 hail ($41.2 million in 2025 dollars). South Dakota ranks 6th of 52 states and territories by count and 7th of 51 per square mile.
Hail in South Dakota, 1955 to 2026
Hail records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1996: all 48 event types recorded from 1996
- Records
- 17,0111955 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 522average
- Deaths
- 065 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $386Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2005755 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are hail reports common in South Dakota?
South Dakota averages about 522 hail reports a year since 2000, 6th of 52 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2005 (755). Per 10,000 square miles of land, South Dakota records 2244 hail reports since 1955, 7th of 51 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1955, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in South Dakota have the most hail reports?
Per square mile, Lawrence County leads South Dakota: 279 days with a hail report since 1955, 348.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Pennington County has the most hail records (1,626 since 1955); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1955 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is hail season in South Dakota?
58% of its hail reports since 1955 fell in June and July. The busiest month is June (5,053 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 0 · Feb 5 · Mar 76 · Apr 528 · May 2,358 · Jun 5,053 · Jul 4,756 · Aug 3,286 · Sep 809 · Oct 124 · Nov 15 · Dec 1 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1955.
The costliest hail reports in South Dakota
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-08-30 | HailRapid City, Pennington County One storm episode: 5 records; the totals are the episode's. | 2.25 in hail | 0 | 0 | $41M |
| 2001-06-12 | HailSioux Falls, Minnehaha County One storm episode: 10 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 1.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | $33M |
| 2009-07-09 | HailLesterville, Yankton County One storm episode: 6 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. | 2.50 in hail | 0 | 0 | $29M |
| 2013-07-20 | HailRapid City, Pennington County One storm episode: 5 records; the totals are the episode's. | 1.50 in hail | 0 | 0 | $19M |
| 1994-06-12 | HailMiller, Hand County Every hail record filed in the state that day (4, in 4 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 2.75 in hail | 0 | 1 | $13M |
| 1993-05-07 | HailBeresford, Union County Every hail record filed in the state that day (4, in 4 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 3.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | $11M |
| 1995-09-02 | HailBryant, Hamlin County Every hail record filed in the state that day (6, in 5 places; before 1996 NOAA filed no storm episodes); the totals are the day's. | 0.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | $11M |
| 1997-06-20 | HailKimball, Brule County | 2.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | $11M |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are hail reports becoming more frequent in South Dakota?
South Dakota's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | South Dakota | United States | South Dakota's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-59 | 106 | 2,477 | 4.3% |
| 1960s | 237 | 7,651 | 3.1% |
| 1970s | 310 | 11,007 | 2.8% |
| 1980s | 801 | 26,555 | 3.0% |
| 1990s | 1,823 | 75,581 | 2.4% |
| 2000s | 6,234 | 137,396 | 4.5% |
| 2010s | 4,866 | 107,281 | 4.5% |
| 2020-26 | 2,634 | 56,491 | 4.7% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent hail reports in South Dakota
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-29 | HailMission Hill, Yankton County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailNapa, Yankton County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailWhite River, Mellette County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailVetal, Bennett County | 2.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailBatesland, Oglala Lakota County | 2.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailBatesland, Oglala Lakota County | 1.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailBatesland, Oglala Lakota County | 1.25 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailBatesland, Oglala Lakota County | 2.50 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailBatesland, Oglala Lakota County | 1.50 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailEden, Marshall County | 1.75 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailGroton, Brown County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-06-29 | HailVan Metre, Jones County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for hail reports in South Dakota
FEMA files hail and wind disasters under the incident type Severe Storm: 34 declarations in South Dakota, 34 of them major disasters; the latest on September 1, 2026.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-01 | DR-4941 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 1 |
| 2026-09-01 | DR-4938 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 10 |
| 2024-11-01 | DR-4842 | Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 1 |
| 2022-08-02 | DR-4664 | Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 6 |
| 2022-06-29 | DR-4656 | Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 22 |
| 2019-11-18 | DR-4469 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 25 |
| 2019-10-07 | DR-4467 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding | 8 |
| 2019-06-20 | DR-4448 | Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding | 1 |
| 2017-02-01 | DR-4298 | Severe Winter Storm | 27 |
| 2015-08-07 | DR-4237 | Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 1 |
| 2015-07-30 | DR-4233 | Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding | 14 |
| 2013-11-08 | DR-4155 | Severe Winter Storm, Snowstorm, and Flooding | 16 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Lawrence County: the county's whole recordThe South Dakota county with the most hail reports per square mile
- Hail across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in South DakotaTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Severe thunderstorm wind in South Dakota12,755 records
- Winter storms in South Dakota10,128 records
- High wind and dust storms in South Dakota5,265 records