NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sioux Falls, 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 Sioux Falls, South Dakota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 134 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 134
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Sioux Falls
The strongest of the 134 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 7, 1993; its path came within 16 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on July 14, 1970, killed 1 person. Of the 134, 15 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 61 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 49. The most recent tornado was on July 28, 2025. Sioux Falls has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 88% of the 61 South Dakota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 355 times since 1956, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Sioux Falls has more hail reports within 10 miles than 90% of the 61 South Dakota cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Sioux Falls
By decade
- 2020s10
- 2010s14
- 2000s37
- 1990s23(1 EF3+)
- 1980s13
- 1970s15
- 1960s18
- 1950s4(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 7, 1993 | F4 | 16 mi | 54 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 19, 1954 | F3 | 3 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 1970 | F2 | 25 mi | 3.8 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Sep 10, 2019 | EF2 | 1 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 10, 2019 | EF2 | 3 mi | 0.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 10, 2019 | EF2 | 3 mi | 0.63 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jun 17, 2014 | EF2 | 17 mi | 3.37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2008 | EF2 | 14 mi | 2.56 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 1, 2008 | EF2 | 23 mi | 12.95 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 24, 2003 | F2 | 22 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 24, 2003 | F2 | 19 mi | 7.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 7, 1993 | F2 | 14 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 134, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sioux Falls
The Storm Prediction Center has 355 hail reports within 10 miles of Sioux Falls since 1956, made on 139 separate days. Of these, 212 were 1 inch across or larger, and 26 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on August 5, 2021. The most recent report is from September 16, 2025. June has the most reports, 94.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sioux Falls
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Sioux Falls, SD, 4 miles north of Sioux Falls 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%). Harrisburg, 8 miles southeast, 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 Sioux Falls
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 404 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sioux Falls: 196 thunderstorm wind reports, 126 floods, 68 flash floods, 10 heavy rain events and 4 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $9.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 11, 2010. August has had the most flash floods, 28 of 68. Of the 59 South Dakota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 58 have had fewer than Sioux Falls.
May 12, 2022: thunderstorm wind in Sioux Falls — 1 killed.
NWS: “A tree was blown down onto a house. A large tree was also blown down on a car which resulted in the fatality of the driver.”
July 31, 2008: lightning strike 5 miles from the centre of Sioux Falls — 2 injured.
NWS: “A lightning strike at a construction site on the east side of Sioux Falls injured two male workers who had just begun their shift. One of the workers was hospitalized.”
September 10, 2019: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Sioux Falls — 1 injured, $750,000 damage.
NWS: “Significant damaging winds impacted areas for several blocks around 41st Street and Glendale Avenue. Two apartment buildings had roofs torn off.”
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 Sioux Falls's 7 ZIP codes have filed 281 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $6.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 21 claims (7% of all) and $230,000, then June Midwest Flooding in 2024 with 19. The year with the most claims was 2010, with 73. 20% 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, 24 have fewer than Sioux Falls.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 21 | $230,000 |
| June Midwest Flooding2024 | 19 | $631,000 |
Minnehaha County, which includes Sioux Falls, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 5 floods, 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 Minnehaha County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for lightning. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $103.7 million a year, the highest of 66 South Dakota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $36.0 million (35%), is from tornadoes.
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 Sioux Falls
- Tea, SD8 mi
- Harrisburg, SD8 mi
- Brandon, SD9 mi
- Hartford, SD12 mi
- Baltic, SD14 mi
- Lennox, SD14 mi
- Larchwood, IA16 mi
- Garretson, SD17 mi
- Canton, SD17 mi
- Dell Rapids, SD21 mi
- Parker, SD21 mi
- Luverne, MN27 mi
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