NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Sturgis, 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 Sturgis, South Dakota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 48 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 3 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 48
- EF3 or stronger
- 3
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Sturgis
The highest rating among the 48 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 3 times; the most recent, on May 11, 1991, came within 19 miles. Of the 48, 2 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 7 have come since 2000. June and July have had the most tornadoes, 14 each. The most recent tornado was on July 10, 2020. Of the 61 South Dakota cities on this site, 70% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Sturgis. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 222 times since 1972, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Sturgis has more hail reports within 10 miles than 80% of the 61 South Dakota cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Sturgis
By decade
- 2020s1
- 2010s5
- 2000s1
- 1990s17(1 EF3+)
- 1980s3
- 1970s7
- 1960s8(2 EF3+)
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11, 1991 | F3 | 19 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Jul 18, 1965 | F3 | 14 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1965 | F3 | 22 mi | 20.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 2015 | EF2 | 23 mi | 19.69 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 12, 1993 | F2 | 4 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 11, 1991 | F2 | 20 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 28, 1972 | F2 | 16 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 23, 1969 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 20, 1955 | F2 | 22 mi | 1.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 10, 2020 | EF1 | 15 mi | 14.81 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 29, 2018 | EF1 | 23 mi | 7.07 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 8, 2015 | EF1 | 25 mi | 1.45 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 48, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Sturgis
The Storm Prediction Center has 222 hail reports within 10 miles of Sturgis since 1972, made on 126 separate days. Of these, 166 were 1 inch across or larger, and 16 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 29, 2018. The most recent report is from September 11, 2025. June has the most reports, 69.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Sturgis
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Fort Meade, SD, in Sturgis at 3,308 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 86°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 15°F. May is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and January and December the driest at 0.5 inches; the year adds up to 21.3 inches over 47 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 28 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 156 nights a year. Snowfall averages 47.6 inches a year, most of it in March. That 21.3 inches is more than at 16 of the 43 South Dakota stations used on this site (37%). Piedmont, 13 miles southeast, has its own station (Rapid City 4NW, SD): 18.8 inches a year, 2.5 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 86°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38 | 15 | 0.5 | 2 | 5.3 |
| Feb | 39 | 17 | 0.7 | 2 | 8.3 |
| Mar | 49 | 25 | 1.3 | 3 | 8.4 |
| Apr | 58 | 34 | 2.5 | 6 | 7.9 |
| May | 67 | 44 | 4.4 | 7 | 1.4 |
| Jun | 78 | 53 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 86 | 60 | 2.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 86 | 58 | 1.7 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 49 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 36 | 1.9 | 4 | 2.8 |
| Nov | 48 | 25 | 0.8 | 2 | 5.3 |
| Dec | 39 | 17 | 0.5 | 2 | 8.2 |
| Year | 60 | 36 | 21.3 | 47 | 47.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Fort Meade, SD (3,308 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 Sturgis
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 52 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Sturgis: 39 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 flash floods, 4 floods, 3 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $3.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on August 1, 2000. May has had the most flash floods, 3 of 5. Of the 59 South Dakota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 20 have had fewer than Sturgis.
August 5, 2008: lightning strike 1 mile from the centre of Sturgis — 3 injured.
NWS: “Three people were injured by lightning at the Glencoe Camp Resort ticket booth.”
August 1, 2000: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Sturgis — 2 injured, $500,000 damage.
August 5, 2008: thunderstorm wind in Sturgis — 1 injured.
NWS: “A man was injured when he was struck by a pole holding a large banner at a convenience store east of Sturgis.”
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 Sturgis's ZIP code 57785 have filed 11 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $17,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 28 South Dakota cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 1 have fewer than Sturgis.
Meade County, which includes Sturgis, 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 Sturgis
- Whitewood, SD9 mi
- Piedmont, SD13 mi
- Black Hawk, SD18 mi
- Lead, SD19 mi
- Spearfish, SD21 mi
- Rapid City, SD26 mi
- Ellsworth Afb, SD26 mi
- Box Elder, SD28 mi
- Belle Fourche, SD31 mi
- Custer, SD44 mi
- Sundance, WY46 mi
- Hermosa, SD47 mi
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