NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Parker, 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 Parker, South Dakota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 158 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 158
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for Parker
The highest rating among the 158 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 30, 1998, came within 25 miles. Of the 158, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 80 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 77. The most recent tornado was on July 28, 2025. Parker has more tornadoes within 25 miles than any other of the 61 South Dakota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 120 times since 1969, with stones up to 5 inches. Parker has more hail reports within 10 miles than 57% of the 61 South Dakota cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Parker
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s13
- 2000s60
- 1990s21(3 EF3+)
- 1980s16(1 EF3+)
- 1970s14
- 1960s20(3 EF3+)
- 1950s7(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 30, 1998 | F4 | 25 mi | 14 mi | 6 / 150 |
| Jun 7, 1965 | F4 | 13 mi | 7.8 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1993 | F4 | 24 mi | 54 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 7, 1993 | F3 | 15 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 3, 1981 | F3 | 9 mi | 12.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 26, 1965 | F3 | 17 mi | 35.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 24, 1965 | F3 | 15 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 1954 | F3 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1954 | F3 | 20 mi | 12.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 1970 | F2 | 24 mi | 3.8 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Sep 10, 2019 | EF2 | 20 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 10, 2019 | EF2 | 20 mi | 0.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 158, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Parker
The Storm Prediction Center has 120 hail reports within 10 miles of Parker since 1969, made on 74 separate days. Of these, 60 were 1 inch across or larger, and 10 reached 2 inches. The largest, 5 inches, fell on July 14, 1970. The most recent report is from August 10, 2023. June has the most reports, 43.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Parker
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Sioux Falls, SD, 24 miles northeast of Parker at 1,430 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 27°F and 9°F. June is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 27.8 inches over 53 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 15 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 162 nights a year. Snowfall averages 45.3 inches a year, most of it in December. That 27.8 inches is more than at 35 of the 43 South Dakota stations used on this site (81%). Lennox, 14 miles east, has its own station (Canton, SD): 28.1 inches a year, 0.3 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 85°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 9 | 0.6 | 2 | 8.0 |
| Feb | 32 | 13 | 0.8 | 3 | 8.6 |
| Mar | 45 | 24 | 1.6 | 4 | 7.2 |
| Apr | 59 | 36 | 3.0 | 6 | 5.1 |
| May | 71 | 48 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 81 | 59 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 85 | 63 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 61 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 52 | 2.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 38 | 2.4 | 4 | 1.4 |
| Nov | 45 | 25 | 1.2 | 3 | 6.2 |
| Dec | 32 | 13 | 0.8 | 2 | 8.7 |
| Year | 58 | 37 | 27.8 | 53 | 45.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Sioux Falls, SD (1,430 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 Parker
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 78 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Parker: 52 thunderstorm wind reports, 24 floods and 2 flash floods. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $33.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on June 24, 2003.
June 1, 2019: flood 6 miles from the centre of Parker — $27.5 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.”
March 13, 2019: flood 6 miles from the centre of Parker — $2.5 million damage.
NWS: “Numerous flooding reports across the city of Sioux Falls and Minnehaha County, with several closed roads. Reports through social media as well as law enforcement.”
September 12, 2019: flood 6 miles from the centre of Parker — $1.1 million damage.
NWS: “Flooding resulted in crop losses and damage to public infrastructure including numerous county and township roads, culverts, and some bridges. Crop loss estimates provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.”
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
Turner County, which includes Parker, has been named in 26 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 23 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 floods, 11 severe storms, 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 Turner 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 21st highest of 66 South Dakota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.1 million (38%), 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 Parker
- Lennox, SD14 mi
- Tea, SD15 mi
- Hartford, SD16 mi
- Freeman, SD18 mi
- Sioux Falls, SD21 mi
- Harrisburg, SD23 mi
- Canton, SD28 mi
- Baltic, SD29 mi
- Beresford, SD29 mi
- Brandon, SD30 mi
- Larchwood, IA35 mi
- Dell Rapids, SD36 mi
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