NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Belle Fourche, SD
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Belle Fourche, South Dakota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 31 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 31
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Belle Fourche
The highest rating among the 31 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on July 18, 1965, came within 18 miles. Of the 31, none had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 5 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 14. The most recent tornado was on July 23, 2020. Of the 61 South Dakota cities on this site, 92% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Belle Fourche. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 90 times since 1963, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 61 South Dakota cities, 57% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Belle Fourche.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Belle Fourche
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s2
- 2000s2
- 1990s10
- 1980s2
- 1970s7
- 1960s4(2 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 18, 1965 | F3 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 1963 | F3 | 25 mi | 2.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 2014 | EF2 | 20 mi | 16.51 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 13, 2009 | EF2 | 25 mi | 9.4 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 28, 1972 | F2 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 20, 1955 | F2 | 20 mi | 1.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 16, 2007 | EF1 | 19 mi | 4.03 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 27, 1999 | F1 | 19 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 24, 1986 | F1 | 20 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 4, 1986 | F1 | 20 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 26, 1977 | F1 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 1975 | F1 | 18 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 31, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Belle Fourche
The Storm Prediction Center has 90 hail reports within 10 miles of Belle Fourche since 1963, made on 65 separate days. Of these, 74 were 1 inch across or larger, and 14 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 4 inches (softball size), was reported on 3 days, most recently June 12, 2022. The most recent report is from August 5, 2025. June has the most reports, 34.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Belle Fourche
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Belle Fourche, SD, 7 miles south of Belle Fourche at 3,020 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 13°F. May and June are the wettest at 3.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 18.0 inches over 42 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 38 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 167 nights a year. Snowfall averages 42.2 inches a year, most of it in December. That 18.0 inches is more than at 3 of the 43 South Dakota stations used on this site (7%). Spearfish, 19 miles south, has its own station (Spearfish, SD): 21.4 inches a year, 3.4 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 13 | 0.4 | 2 | 5.5 |
| Feb | 39 | 15 | 0.5 | 2 | 6.7 |
| Mar | 50 | 24 | 1.2 | 2 | 7.2 |
| Apr | 59 | 33 | 2.1 | 5 | 5.2 |
| May | 69 | 44 | 3.0 | 6 | 1.3 |
| Jun | 79 | 54 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 60 | 2.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 57 | 1.5 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 47 | 1.3 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 35 | 1.7 | 3 | 2.6 |
| Nov | 48 | 24 | 0.7 | 2 | 3.9 |
| Dec | 37 | 15 | 0.6 | 2 | 9.8 |
| Year | 61 | 35 | 18.0 | 42 | 42.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Belle Fourche, SD (3,020 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Belle Fourche
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 58 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Belle Fourche: 55 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 floods and 1 flash flood. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $32,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 91 mph, on July 5, 2012.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Belle Fourche's ZIP code 57717 have filed 13 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1982, and were paid $14,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 28 South Dakota cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 4 have fewer than Belle Fourche.
Butte County, which includes Belle Fourche, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 severe storms, 7 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storm, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on August 2, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Butte County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail; Relatively Low for strong wind and lightning; Very Low for tornadoes, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.1 million a year, the 31st highest of 66 South Dakota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.9 million (48%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Belle Fourche
- Spearfish, SD19 mi
- Whitewood, SD23 mi
- Sturgis, SD31 mi
- Lead, SD31 mi
- Sundance, WY39 mi
- Piedmont, SD44 mi
- Black Hawk, SD48 mi
- Rapid City, SD56 mi
- Ellsworth Afb, SD57 mi
- Moorcroft, WY58 mi
- Box Elder, SD59 mi
- Custer, SD68 mi
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