NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Tea, 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 Tea, South Dakota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 150 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 150
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Tea
The highest rating among the 150 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 7, 1993, came within 19 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on July 14, 1970, killed 1 person. Of the 150, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 72 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 59. The most recent tornado was on July 28, 2025. Tea has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 95% of the 61 South Dakota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 317 times since 1959, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Tea has more hail reports within 10 miles than 88% of the 61 South Dakota cities.
Compare Tea's storm record with another city →
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Tea
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s11
- 2000s53
- 1990s24(2 EF3+)
- 1980s14(1 EF3+)
- 1970s15
- 1960s19(1 EF3+)
- 1950s6(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 7, 1965 | F4 | 19 mi | 7.8 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jun 7, 1993 | F4 | 19 mi | 54 mi | 0 / 5 |
| May 7, 1993 | F3 | 24 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 3, 1981 | F3 | 19 mi | 12.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 1954 | F3 | 7 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 14, 1970 | F2 | 20 mi | 3.8 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Sep 10, 2019 | EF2 | 6 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 10, 2019 | EF2 | 5 mi | 0.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 10, 2019 | EF2 | 4 mi | 0.63 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Jun 17, 2014 | EF2 | 15 mi | 3.37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2008 | EF2 | 20 mi | 2.56 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 1, 2008 | EF2 | 24 mi | 12.95 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 150, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Tea
The Storm Prediction Center has 317 hail reports within 10 miles of Tea since 1959, made on 129 separate days. Of these, 178 were 1 inch across or larger, and 20 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on July 13, 1997. The most recent report is from September 16, 2025. June has the most reports, 78.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Tea
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Sioux Falls, SD, 11 miles northeast of Tea 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, 7 miles south, 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 Tea
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 302 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Tea: 182 thunderstorm wind reports, 59 flash floods, 48 floods, 10 heavy rain events and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $12.8 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, 23 of 59. Of the 59 South Dakota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 57 have had fewer than Tea.
May 12, 2022: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Tea — 1 killed.
September 10, 2019: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Tea — 1 injured, $750,000 damage.
August 18, 2006: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Tea — 1 injured, $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds caused widespread and severe tree, power line, and crop damage. The damage to power lines included several large transmission circuit structures one mile south of Tea being blown down along a half mile stretch.”
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
Lincoln County, which includes Tea, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 14 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 floods, 6 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 Lincoln County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes; Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $41.7 million a year, the 2nd highest of 66 South Dakota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $17.3 million (42%), 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.