NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Watertown, 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 Watertown, South Dakota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 86 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 86
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Watertown
The highest rating among the 86 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on May 30, 2022, came within 16 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on June 21, 1961, killed 1 person. Of the 86, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 33 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 26. The most recent tornado was on August 16, 2025. Watertown has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 59% of the 61 South Dakota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 129 times since 1956, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Watertown has more hail reports within 10 miles than 60% of the 61 South Dakota cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Watertown
By decade
- 2020s23(1 EF3+)
- 2010s3
- 2000s7
- 1990s20
- 1980s11(2 EF3+)
- 1970s8
- 1960s12(1 EF3+)
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 1961 | F3 | 8 mi | 156.3 mi | 1 / 7 |
| May 30, 2022 | EF3 | 16 mi | 13.31 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 12, 1984 | F3 | 11 mi | 27 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 18, 1983 | F3 | 3 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 27, 2025 | EF2 | 12 mi | 3.98 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 28, 2025 | EF2 | 19 mi | 3.43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 2022 | EF2 | 21 mi | 12.43 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 12, 2022 | EF2 | 13 mi | 1.96 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jul 18, 1986 | F2 | 23 mi | 14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 22, 1981 | F2 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 1979 | F2 | 1 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 1971 | F2 | 20 mi | 36.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 86, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Watertown
The Storm Prediction Center has 129 hail reports within 10 miles of Watertown since 1956, made on 69 separate days. Of these, 80 were 1 inch across or larger, and 10 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on July 11, 2017. The most recent report is from September 2, 2025. July has the most reports, 54.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Watertown
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Watertown Regional Airport, SD, 2 miles southwest of Watertown at 1,748 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 21°F and 3°F. June is the wettest at 3.9 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.6 inches; the year adds up to 23.1 inches over 49 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 174 nights a year. Snowfall averages 41.1 inches a year, most of it in February and December. That 23.1 inches is more than at 21 of the 43 South Dakota stations used on this site (49%). Milbank, 32 miles northeast, has its own station (Wilmot, SD): 24.7 inches a year, 1.6 more than here, and the same July average high, 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21 | 3 | 0.6 | 2 | 6.7 |
| Feb | 26 | 7 | 0.7 | 2 | 8.9 |
| Mar | 39 | 20 | 1.0 | 3 | 5.4 |
| Apr | 54 | 32 | 2.1 | 5 | 5.2 |
| May | 67 | 45 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 77 | 55 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 60 | 3.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 58 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 72 | 49 | 2.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 56 | 35 | 2.0 | 4 | 1.4 |
| Nov | 40 | 21 | 0.7 | 2 | 4.5 |
| Dec | 26 | 9 | 0.7 | 2 | 8.9 |
| Year | 53 | 33 | 23.1 | 49 | 41.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Watertown Regional Airport, SD (1,748 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 Watertown
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 154 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Watertown: 76 floods, 68 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $781,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 99 mph, on August 5, 2025. August has had the most flash floods, 3 of 9. Of the 59 South Dakota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 34 have had fewer than Watertown.
June 21, 2013: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Watertown — $574,000 damage.
NWS: “Eighty mph winds caused extensive damage to trees along with many structures in and around Watertown. Many trees were downed.”
May 19, 2025: lightning strike 1 mile from the centre of Watertown — $100,000 damage.
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 Watertown's ZIP code 57201 have filed 462 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $6.4 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 195 claims (42% of all) and $4.4 million, then Severe flooding in 2001 with 55 and Midwest Flooding in 1993 with 23. 60% 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, 27 have fewer than Watertown.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 195 | $4.4 million |
| Severe flooding2001 | 55 | $293,000 |
| Midwest Flooding1993 | 23 | $119,000 |
Codington County, which includes Watertown, has been named in 23 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1969, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 floods, 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Flooding, on July 6, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Codington County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Low for hail and inland flooding; Very Low for lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $24.9 million a year, the 5th highest of 66 South Dakota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $12.0 million (48%), 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 Watertown
- Milbank, SD32 mi
- Webster, SD35 mi
- Canby, MN42 mi
- Brookings, SD45 mi
- Volga, SD45 mi
- Ortonville, MN45 mi
- Madison, MN46 mi
- Sisseton, SD52 mi
- Dawson, MN52 mi
- Appleton, MN58 mi
- Minneota, MN60 mi
- Groton, SD62 mi
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