NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rapid City, 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 Rapid City, South Dakota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 49 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 49
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Rapid City
The strongest of the 49 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on May 11, 1991; its path came within 9 miles. Of the 49, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 7 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 18. The most recent tornado was on May 6, 2023. Of the 61 South Dakota cities on this site, 69% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Rapid City. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 884 times since 1955, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Rapid City has more hail reports within 10 miles than any other of the 61 South Dakota cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Rapid City
By decade
- 2020s2
- 2010s5
- 1990s20(1 EF3+)
- 1980s4
- 1970s6
- 1960s9
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 1991 | F3 | 9 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Jun 13, 2016 | EF2 | 13 mi | 7.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 1991 | F2 | 8 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 20, 1968 | F2 | 24 mi | 13.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1967 | F2 | 2 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jul 23, 1966 | F2 | 12 mi | 3.8 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 11, 1965 | F2 | 22 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 23, 2021 | EF1 | 21 mi | 5.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 4, 2019 | EF1 | 24 mi | 1.22 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 27, 2014 | EF1 | 16 mi | 2.16 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 11, 2013 | EF1 | 21 mi | 1.28 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 1991 | F1 | 4 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 49, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rapid City
The Storm Prediction Center has 884 hail reports within 10 miles of Rapid City since 1955, made on 335 separate days. Of these, 662 were 1 inch across or larger, and 114 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 4.25 inches, was reported on 2 days, most recently August 30, 2013. The most recent report is from July 19, 2025. July has the most reports, 322.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Rapid City
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Rapid City WFO, SD, 2 miles east of Rapid City at 3,379 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 37°F and 16°F. May is the wettest at 4.1 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.3 inches; the year adds up to 20.0 inches over 46 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 24 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 144 nights a year. Snowfall averages 53.7 inches a year, most of it in March. That 20.0 inches is more than at 8 of the 43 South Dakota stations used on this site (19%). Black Hawk, 9 miles northwest, has its own station (Rapid City 4NW, SD): 18.8 inches a year, 1.2 less than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37 | 16 | 0.3 | 1 | 5.3 |
| Feb | 38 | 18 | 0.5 | 2 | 9.1 |
| Mar | 47 | 26 | 0.9 | 3 | 10.4 |
| Apr | 55 | 34 | 2.3 | 6 | 10.0 |
| May | 65 | 45 | 4.1 | 8 | 2.2 |
| Jun | 76 | 55 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Jul | 84 | 62 | 2.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 60 | 2.2 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 51 | 1.4 | 4 | 0.1 |
| Oct | 59 | 38 | 1.5 | 3 | 3.4 |
| Nov | 47 | 27 | 0.5 | 1 | 6.5 |
| Dec | 38 | 19 | 0.4 | 1 | 6.6 |
| Year | 59 | 37 | 20.0 | 46 | 53.7 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Rapid City WFO, SD (3,379 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 Rapid City
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 296 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rapid City: 241 thunderstorm wind reports, 23 floods, 16 flash floods, 8 heavy rain events and 8 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $6.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 114 mph, on August 6, 1999. Of the 59 South Dakota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 49 have had fewer than Rapid City.
August 9, 1996: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Rapid City — 1 injured.
August 8, 2016: lightning strike 3 miles from the centre of Rapid City — 1 injured.
NWS: “A person was struck by lightning on Haines Avenue.”
August 8, 2016: lightning strike 4 miles from the centre of Rapid City — 1 injured.
NWS: “A person was struck by lightning at the Rushmore Crossing Shopping Center.”
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 Rapid City's 3 ZIP codes have filed 94 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $405,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1997, with 16. 4% 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, 21 have fewer than Rapid City.
Pennington County, which includes Rapid City, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 floods, 5 fires, 5 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Straight-Line Winds, on April 7, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Pennington County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for hail and lightning; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding; Relatively Low for tornadoes, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $40.8 million a year, the 3rd highest of 66 South Dakota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $17.1 million (42%), 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 Rapid City
- Black Hawk, SD9 mi
- Ellsworth Afb, SD10 mi
- Box Elder, SD10 mi
- Piedmont, SD13 mi
- Hermosa, SD21 mi
- Sturgis, SD26 mi
- Custer, SD27 mi
- Lead, SD34 mi
- Whitewood, SD34 mi
- Spearfish, SD43 mi
- Hot Springs, SD48 mi
- Belle Fourche, SD56 mi
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