NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Custer, 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 Custer, South Dakota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 30 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 0 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 30
- EF3 or stronger
- 0
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Custer
The highest rating among the 30 tornadoes within 25 miles is F2 or EF2, reached 6 times; the most recent, on June 13, 2016, came within 20 miles. Of the 30, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 11 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 13. The most recent tornado was on May 23, 2021. Of the 61 South Dakota cities on this site, 95% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Custer. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 238 times since 1962, with stones up to 6 inches. Custer has more hail reports within 10 miles than 83% of the 61 South Dakota cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Custer
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s7
- 2000s2
- 1990s6
- 1970s3
- 1960s6
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 13, 2016 | EF2 | 20 mi | 7.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 1968 | F2 | 20 mi | 13.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 23, 1966 | F2 | 15 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 22, 1966 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 1965 | F2 | 6 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 1961 | F2 | 19 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 2021 | EF1 | 3 mi | 5.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 2021 | EF1 | 7 mi | 6.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 4, 2019 | EF1 | 18 mi | 1.22 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 4, 2019 | EF1 | 15 mi | 1.66 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2014 | EF1 | 21 mi | 2.16 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 11, 2013 | EF1 | 7 mi | 1.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 30, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Custer
The Storm Prediction Center has 238 hail reports within 10 miles of Custer since 1962, made on 144 separate days. Of these, 168 were 1 inch across or larger, and 12 reached 2 inches. The largest, 6 inches, fell on June 22, 1968. The most recent report is from June 29, 2025. July has the most reports, 93.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Custer
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Custer, SD, 2 miles southeast of Custer at 5,480 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 56°F; December is the coolest, at 37°F and 17°F. May is the wettest at 3.5 inches of precipitation on average and January and December the driest at 0.4 inches; the year adds up to 20.7 inches over 52 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 4 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 181 nights a year. Snowfall averages 57.9 inches a year, most of it in April. That 20.7 inches is more than at 12 of the 43 South Dakota stations used on this site (28%). Rapid City, 27 miles northeast, has its own station (Rapid City WFO, SD): 20.0 inches a year, 0.7 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 16 | 0.4 | 1 | 6.6 |
| Feb | 37 | 16 | 0.7 | 3 | 10.7 |
| Mar | 46 | 24 | 0.9 | 3 | 10.7 |
| Apr | 51 | 31 | 2.2 | 6 | 11.0 |
| May | 61 | 41 | 3.5 | 8 | 2.1 |
| Jun | 72 | 50 | 3.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 80 | 56 | 3.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 55 | 2.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 46 | 1.5 | 4 | 0.8 |
| Oct | 56 | 34 | 1.5 | 3 | 3.9 |
| Nov | 45 | 24 | 0.6 | 2 | 6.7 |
| Dec | 37 | 17 | 0.4 | 1 | 5.4 |
| Year | 56 | 34 | 20.7 | 52 | 57.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Custer, SD (5,480 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 Custer
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 38 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Custer: 27 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 flash floods, 4 floods and 2 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $2.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 113 mph, on July 8, 2001. Of the 59 South Dakota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 20 have had fewer than Custer.
August 2, 2019: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Custer — $1.0 million damage.
NWS: “Significant flooding occurred on French Creek from the Custer Limestone area downstream to Stockade Lake, including the City of Custer. Several smaller tributaries into French Creek, including Ruby Creek, also flooded.”
May 28, 2019: flood 5 miles from the centre of Custer — $750,000 damage.
NWS: “Runoff from heavy rain flooded creeks and inundated roads. Water covered part of Winter Street/US Highway 16A in Keystone.”
June 1, 2015: flood 5 miles from the centre of Custer — $700,000 damage.
NWS: “Many roads were flooded by heavy rain and high stream levels. On the north side of Rapid City, 143rd Avenue was underwater near Neva Way.”
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 Custer's ZIP code 57730 have filed 27 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1991, and were paid $115,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 28 South Dakota cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 13 have fewer than Custer.
Custer County, which includes Custer, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1972, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 fires, 4 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Straight-Line Winds, on April 7, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Custer County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hail and lightning; Very Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.8 million a year, the 26th highest of 66 South Dakota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.2 million (37%), 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 Custer
- Rapid City, SD27 mi
- Hot Springs, SD28 mi
- Hermosa, SD28 mi
- Black Hawk, SD30 mi
- Piedmont, SD34 mi
- Box Elder, SD37 mi
- Ellsworth Afb, SD37 mi
- Lead, SD37 mi
- Newcastle, WY40 mi
- Sturgis, SD44 mi
- Whitewood, SD47 mi
- Spearfish, SD50 mi
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