NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Piedmont, 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 Piedmont, South Dakota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 55 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 55
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Piedmont
The highest rating among the 55 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 11, 1991, came within 6 miles. Of the 55, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 7 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on May 6, 2023. Of the 61 South Dakota cities on this site, 64% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Piedmont. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 378 times since 1969, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Piedmont has more hail reports within 10 miles than 91% of the 61 South Dakota cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Piedmont
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s4
- 2000s1
- 1990s23(1 EF3+)
- 1980s5
- 1970s6
- 1960s10(1 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 1991 | F3 | 6 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Jul 12, 1965 | F3 | 24 mi | 20.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 2016 | EF2 | 25 mi | 7.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 2015 | EF2 | 21 mi | 19.69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1993 | F2 | 15 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 1991 | F2 | 7 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jul 23, 1969 | F2 | 17 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 20, 1968 | F2 | 22 mi | 13.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1967 | F2 | 13 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 23, 1966 | F2 | 20 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jul 10, 2020 | EF1 | 21 mi | 14.81 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 4, 2019 | EF1 | 23 mi | 1.22 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 55, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Piedmont
The Storm Prediction Center has 378 hail reports within 10 miles of Piedmont since 1969, made on 181 separate days. Of these, 286 were 1 inch across or larger, and 46 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on June 1, 2015. The most recent report is from July 19, 2025. June has the most reports, 131.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Piedmont
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Rapid City 4NW, SD, 9 miles south of Piedmont at 3,479 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 58°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 13°F. May is the wettest at 3.7 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.2 inches; the year adds up to 18.8 inches over 42 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 20 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 170 nights a year. Snowfall averages 36.1 inches a year, most of it in April. That 18.8 inches is more than at 5 of the 43 South Dakota stations used on this site (12%). Rapid City, 13 miles south, has its own station (Rapid City WFO, SD): 20.0 inches a year, 1.2 more than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 13 | 0.2 | 1 | 3.9 |
| Feb | 38 | 15 | 0.4 | 2 | 6.1 |
| Mar | 47 | 23 | 0.9 | 3 | 6.2 |
| Apr | 54 | 31 | 2.0 | 5 | 7.9 |
| May | 64 | 42 | 3.7 | 6 | 0.9 |
| Jun | 75 | 52 | 3.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 58 | 2.7 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 56 | 2.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 47 | 1.5 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 59 | 35 | 1.6 | 4 | 2.1 |
| Nov | 47 | 24 | 0.5 | 1 | 4.0 |
| Dec | 39 | 15 | 0.3 | 1 | 5.0 |
| Year | 58 | 34 | 18.8 | 42 | 36.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Rapid City 4NW, SD (3,479 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 Piedmont
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 83 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Piedmont: 52 thunderstorm wind reports, 19 floods, 11 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $1.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 9, 2000. May has had the most flash floods, 5 of 11. Of the 59 South Dakota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 40 have had fewer than Piedmont.
May 29, 2013: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Piedmont — $300,000 damage.
August 17, 2007: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Piedmont — $250,000 damage.
NWS: “An estimated four to six inches of rain and hail to the size of baseballs caused localized flooding between Piedmont and Tilford, especially near poor drainage areas and at a barricade along a frontage road.”
May 24, 2010: flash flood 6 miles from the centre of Piedmont — $150,000 damage.
NWS: “Heavy rain caused flash flooding in southern Meade County from Black Hawk to Elm Springs. Flash flooding was reported along Elk Creek, Antelope Creek, and Box Elder Creek.”
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 Piedmont's ZIP code 57769 have filed 10 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 2007, and were paid $35,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 28 South Dakota cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 0 have fewer than Piedmont.
Meade County, which includes Piedmont, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 6 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 2 fires). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 5, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Meade County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $21.7 million a year, the 8th highest of 66 South Dakota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $9.5 million (44%), 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 Piedmont
- Black Hawk, SD4 mi
- Rapid City, SD13 mi
- Sturgis, SD13 mi
- Ellsworth Afb, SD14 mi
- Box Elder, SD16 mi
- Whitewood, SD22 mi
- Lead, SD25 mi
- Spearfish, SD32 mi
- Hermosa, SD33 mi
- Custer, SD34 mi
- Belle Fourche, SD44 mi
- Sundance, WY53 mi
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