NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lead, 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 Lead, South Dakota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 46 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 46
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Lead
The highest rating among the 46 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on June 29, 1993, came within 10 miles. Of the 46, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 12 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on July 10, 2020. Of the 61 South Dakota cities on this site, 75% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Lead. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 187 times since 1958, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Lead has more hail reports within 10 miles than 75% of the 61 South Dakota cities.
Compare Lead's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Lead
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s7
- 2000s2
- 1990s10(1 EF3+)
- 1980s1
- 1970s9(1 EF3+)
- 1960s7(2 EF3+)
- 1950s7
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 29, 1993 | F3 | 10 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 1975 | F3 | 19 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 1965 | F3 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1965 | F3 | 6 mi | 20.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 6, 2020 | EF2 | 6 mi | 5.05 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 6, 2020 | EF2 | 11 mi | 2.06 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1993 | F2 | 15 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 28, 1972 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 23, 1969 | F2 | 8 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 1968 | F2 | 10 mi | 13.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 1953 | F2 | 14 mi | 38.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 10, 2020 | EF1 | 2 mi | 14.81 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 46, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lead
The Storm Prediction Center has 187 hail reports within 10 miles of Lead since 1958, made on 127 separate days. Of these, 128 were 1 inch across or larger, and 14 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 3 inches (tea cup size), was reported on 3 days, most recently June 29, 2018. The most recent report is from August 1, 2025. August has the most reports, 56.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lead
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lead, SD, 5 miles northeast of Lead at 5,112 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 57°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 18°F. May is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and January and December the driest at 1.5 inches; the year adds up to 31.6 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 6 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 167 nights a year. Snowfall averages 183.9 inches a year, most of it in April. That 31.6 inches is more than at 42 of the 43 South Dakota stations used on this site (98%). Spearfish, 12 miles north, has its own station (Spearfish, SD): 21.4 inches a year, 10.2 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 18 | 1.5 | 5 | 24.8 |
| Feb | 39 | 18 | 1.8 | 6 | 26.2 |
| Mar | 47 | 25 | 2.2 | 6 | 27.6 |
| Apr | 54 | 31 | 3.5 | 8 | 29.0 |
| May | 63 | 41 | 4.9 | 9 | 6.7 |
| Jun | 74 | 50 | 3.8 | 8 | 0.9 |
| Jul | 82 | 57 | 3.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 55 | 2.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 47 | 2.0 | 4 | 1.8 |
| Oct | 57 | 35 | 3.3 | 6 | 19.3 |
| Nov | 46 | 25 | 1.7 | 5 | 22.3 |
| Dec | 38 | 19 | 1.5 | 5 | 25.3 |
| Year | 58 | 35 | 31.6 | 74 | 183.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lead, SD (5,112 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 Lead
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 32 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lead: 22 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 flash floods, 3 floods and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $569,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 27, 1999.
June 6, 2020: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Lead — 1 injured.
NWS: “A woman was seriously injured from a tree falling on a camper at the Timon Campground.”
July 4, 2019: flash flood 2 miles from the centre of Lead — $297,000 damage.
NWS: “Flash flooding occurred along Bear Butte Creek in Boulder Canyon near the Boulder Canyon Golf Club. A landslide occurred on Galena Road and culverts were blocked by water and debris.”
August 3, 2010: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Lead — $250,000 damage.
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
Lawrence County, which includes Lead, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 5 severe storms, 3 fires, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 5, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lawrence County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes and inland flooding; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $16.1 million a year, the 15th highest of 66 South Dakota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.5 million (52%), 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 Lead
- Spearfish, SD12 mi
- Whitewood, SD15 mi
- Sturgis, SD19 mi
- Piedmont, SD25 mi
- Black Hawk, SD26 mi
- Sundance, WY28 mi
- Belle Fourche, SD31 mi
- Rapid City, SD34 mi
- Custer, SD37 mi
- Ellsworth Afb, SD39 mi
- Box Elder, SD40 mi
- Newcastle, WY50 mi
All South Dakota cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare Lead with another place →