NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Dell Rapids, 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 Dell Rapids, South Dakota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 93 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 93
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Dell Rapids
The strongest of the 93 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 7, 1993; its path came within 8 miles. Of the 93, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 32 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 38. The most recent tornado was on May 30, 2022. Dell Rapids has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 65% of the 61 South Dakota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 72 times since 1957, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 61 South Dakota cities, 80% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Dell Rapids.
Compare Dell Rapids's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Dell Rapids
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s11
- 2000s17
- 1990s23(4 EF3+)
- 1980s8
- 1970s9(1 EF3+)
- 1960s14
- 1950s7(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 7, 1993 | F4 | 8 mi | 54 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 7, 1993 | F3 | 17 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1993 | F3 | 11 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1993 | F3 | 25 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1970 | F3 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 1954 | F3 | 23 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 10, 2019 | EF2 | 22 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 10, 2019 | EF2 | 24 mi | 0.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 10, 2019 | EF2 | 24 mi | 0.63 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jun 17, 2014 | EF2 | 24 mi | 3.37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2008 | EF2 | 5 mi | 2.56 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 11, 2000 | F2 | 22 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 93, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Dell Rapids
The Storm Prediction Center has 72 hail reports within 10 miles of Dell Rapids since 1957, made on 46 separate days. Of these, 39 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 22, 1964. The most recent report is from July 22, 2023. July has the most reports, 24.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Dell Rapids
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Sioux Falls 14 NNE, SD, 8 miles southeast of Dell Rapids at 1,594 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 24°F and 6°F. June is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 29.7 inches over 55 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 163 nights a year. That 29.7 inches is more than at 41 of the 43 South Dakota stations used on this site (95%). Flandreau, 16 miles north, has its own station (Flandreau, SD): 28.5 inches a year, 1.2 less than here, and a July average high of 81°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24 | 6 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Feb | 29 | 11 | 0.9 | 3 |
| Mar | 42 | 23 | 1.8 | 4 |
| Apr | 57 | 34 | 3.3 | 6 |
| May | 69 | 47 | 3.8 | 7 |
| Jun | 79 | 58 | 5.0 | 7 |
| Jul | 83 | 61 | 3.4 | 5 |
| Aug | 80 | 59 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Sep | 73 | 49 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Oct | 59 | 37 | 2.3 | 4 |
| Nov | 42 | 23 | 1.3 | 2 |
| Dec | 29 | 12 | 0.9 | 3 |
| Year | 55 | 35 | 29.7 | 55 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Sioux Falls 14 NNE, SD (1,594 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 Dell Rapids
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 91 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Dell Rapids: 46 floods, 38 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 flash floods and 2 heavy rain events. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $17.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 12, 2022. June has had the most flash floods, 3 of 5. Of the 59 South Dakota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 20 have had fewer than Dell Rapids.
June 1, 2019: flood 9 miles from the centre of Dell Rapids — $15.8 million damage.
NWS: “During crop planting season, prolonged flooding led to the loss of or inability to plant crops across the area. Crop loss estimates provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.”
September 11, 2019: flood 1 mile from the centre of Dell Rapids — $750,000 damage.
NWS: “00 feet above flood stage on September 13. Extensive flooding of homes occurred in Dell Rapids, some as far as three city blocks from the river.”
March 13, 2019: flood 9 miles from the centre of Dell Rapids — $260,000 damage.
NWS: “Flooding resulted in damage to public infrastructure including county and township roads and culverts.”
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 Dell Rapids's ZIP code 57022 have filed 65 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $851,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 11 claims (17% of all) and $36,000. The year with the most claims was 2019, with 17. 31% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 28 South Dakota cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 19 have fewer than Dell Rapids.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 11 | $36,000 |
Minnehaha County, which includes Dell Rapids, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Flooding, on August 15, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Minnehaha County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $103.7 million a year, the highest of 66 South Dakota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $36.0 million (35%), is from tornadoes.
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 Dell Rapids
- Baltic, SD8 mi
- Garretson, SD11 mi
- Flandreau, SD16 mi
- Brandon, SD18 mi
- Hartford, SD20 mi
- Sioux Falls, SD21 mi
- Pipestone, MN23 mi
- Madison, SD24 mi
- Luverne, MN27 mi
- Tea, SD27 mi
- Harrisburg, SD28 mi
- Larchwood, IA29 mi
All South Dakota cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Dell Rapids with another place →