NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Milbank, 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 Milbank, South Dakota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 71 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 71
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Milbank
The highest rating among the 71 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 30, 2022, came within 19 miles. The deadliest, an F1 on June 19, 1979, killed 1 person. Of the 71, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 33 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 23. The most recent tornado was on June 28, 2025. Milbank has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 52% of the 61 South Dakota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 71 times since 1957, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 61 South Dakota cities, 82% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Milbank.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Milbank
By decade
- 2020s19(1 EF3+)
- 2010s9
- 2000s5
- 1990s17(1 EF3+)
- 1980s3
- 1970s9
- 1960s5
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 30, 2022 | EF3 | 19 mi | 13.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 17, 1996 | F3 | 2 mi | 18 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 3, 1979 | F2 | 8 mi | 20.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 29, 1956 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 28, 1955 | F2 | 7 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 8, 1951 | F2 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 19, 1979 | F1 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jun 28, 2025 | EF1 | 20 mi | 1.23 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2022 | EF1 | 23 mi | 2.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2022 | EF1 | 4 mi | 4.45 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2022 | EF1 | 7 mi | 10.67 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 12, 2022 | EF1 | 24 mi | 1.08 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 71, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Milbank
The Storm Prediction Center has 71 hail reports within 10 miles of Milbank since 1957, made on 41 separate days. Of these, 47 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on August 14, 1957. The most recent report is from August 21, 2025. August has the most reports, 28.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Milbank
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Wilmot, SD, 18 miles northwest of Milbank at 1,201 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 22°F and 3°F. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 172 nights a year. Snowfall averages 51.0 inches a year, most of it in January and February. That 24.7 inches is more than at 25 of the 43 South Dakota stations used on this site (58%). Ortonville, MN, 13 miles northeast, has its own station (Artichoke Lake 1 E, MN): 26.6 inches a year, 1.9 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22 | 3 | 0.8 | 2 | 10.6 |
| Feb | 26 | 6 | 0.8 | 2 | 10.6 |
| Mar | 39 | 19 | 1.2 | 3 | 7.7 |
| Apr | 54 | 31 | 2.5 | 5 | 6.1 |
| May | 68 | 45 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 56 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 60 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 57 | 2.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 48 | 2.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 58 | 35 | 2.4 | 5 | 1.4 |
| Nov | 41 | 22 | 0.9 | 2 | 5.7 |
| Dec | 27 | 10 | 0.8 | 2 | 8.9 |
| Year | 54 | 33 | 24.7 | 50 | 51.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Wilmot, SD (1,201 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 Milbank
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 66 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Milbank: 39 thunderstorm wind reports, 16 floods, 9 flash floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $503,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on July 31, 2008. June has had the most flash floods, 7 of 9. Of the 59 South Dakota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 34 have had fewer than Milbank.
July 31, 2008: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Milbank — 2 injured.
NWS: “Many trees were downed throughout the city of Milbank. Two semis were blown off of Highway 12 near Milbank resulting in injuries to the drivers.”
April 11, 2023: flood 9 miles from the centre of Milbank — $260,000 damage.
June 21, 2013: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Milbank — $131,000 damage.
NWS: “Eighty mph winds caused major tree and structural damage in and around Milbank. Many trees were downed.”
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 Milbank's ZIP code 57252 have filed 17 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1997, and were paid $119,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 41% 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, 7 have fewer than Milbank.
Grant County, which includes Milbank, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 9 floods, 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Flooding, on July 6, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Grant County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Very Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $10.7 million a year, the 20th highest of 66 South Dakota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.2 million (30%), 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 Milbank
- Ortonville, MN13 mi
- Madison, MN24 mi
- Appleton, MN29 mi
- Watertown, SD32 mi
- Dawson, MN34 mi
- Canby, MN37 mi
- Sisseton, SD38 mi
- Morris, MN42 mi
- Webster, SD46 mi
- Montevideo, MN47 mi
- Benson, MN51 mi
- Minneota, MN53 mi
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