NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Webster, 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 Webster, South Dakota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 62 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 62
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Webster
The strongest of the 62 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on June 21, 1961; its path came within 14 miles, and it killed 1 person. Of the 62, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 19 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 25. The most recent tornado was on May 12, 2022. Of the 61 South Dakota cities on this site, 56% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Webster. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 66 times since 1961, with stones up to 4 inches (softball size). Of the 61 South Dakota cities, 89% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Webster.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Webster
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s11
- 2000s3
- 1990s18
- 1980s4
- 1970s7
- 1960s11(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 1961 | F3 | 14 mi | 156.3 mi | 1 / 7 |
| Jul 17, 1996 | F2 | 16 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 1964 | F2 | 18 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 8, 1964 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 6, 1962 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 28, 1961 | F2 | 20 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 28, 1955 | F2 | 25 mi | 5.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 15, 1953 | F2 | 24 mi | 7.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 12, 2022 | EF1 | 6 mi | 0.12 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 12, 2022 | EF1 | 21 mi | 0.49 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 9, 2019 | EF1 | 10 mi | 1.56 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 2017 | EF1 | 5 mi | 0.21 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 62, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Webster
The Storm Prediction Center has 66 hail reports within 10 miles of Webster since 1961, made on 49 separate days. Of these, 35 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4 inches (softball size), fell on July 1, 1969. The most recent report is from August 5, 2025. June and August have the most reports, 22 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Webster
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Webster, SD, 1 mile northeast of Webster at 1,861 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 61°F; January is the coolest, at 20°F and 2°F. June and July are the wettest at 4.0 inches of precipitation on average and November the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 26.2 inches over 53 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 7 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 167 nights a year. Snowfall averages 42.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 26.2 inches is more than at 30 of the 43 South Dakota stations used on this site (70%). Groton, 30 miles west, has its own station (Aberdeen, SD): 21.8 inches a year, 4.4 less than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 20 | 2 | 0.8 | 3 | 9.6 |
| Feb | 25 | 6 | 0.8 | 2 | 7.9 |
| Mar | 38 | 19 | 1.1 | 3 | 5.1 |
| Apr | 53 | 32 | 2.2 | 5 | 5.0 |
| May | 66 | 45 | 3.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 76 | 56 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 61 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 59 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 71 | 50 | 2.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 55 | 36 | 2.5 | 4 | 1.4 |
| Nov | 39 | 21 | 0.7 | 2 | 6.0 |
| Dec | 25 | 9 | 1.1 | 3 | 7.8 |
| Year | 52 | 33 | 26.2 | 53 | 42.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Webster, SD (1,861 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 Webster
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 57 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Webster: 55 thunderstorm wind reports and 2 flash floods. They killed 0 people and injured 10. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 120 mph, on July 31, 2008.
July 31, 2008: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Webster — 10 injured.
NWS: “The lumber yard and cabinet shop in Webster were destroyed. Power lines and poles were downed along with hundreds of trees.”
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 Webster's ZIP code 57274 have filed 18 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1997, and were paid $250,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 6% 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, 8 have fewer than Webster.
Day County, which includes Webster, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1976, 22 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 9 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 coastal storm). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on September 1, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Day County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes and hail; Very Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $7.2 million a year, the 34th highest of 66 South Dakota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.9 million (27%), 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 Webster
- Groton, SD30 mi
- Sisseton, SD34 mi
- Watertown, SD35 mi
- Milbank, SD46 mi
- Aberdeen, SD48 mi
- Ortonville, MN55 mi
- Redfield, SD58 mi
- Oakes, ND60 mi
- Madison, MN68 mi
- Ipswich, SD72 mi
- Huron, SD73 mi
- Canby, MN73 mi
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