NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Yankton, 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 Yankton, South Dakota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 114 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 114
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Yankton
The strongest of the 114 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 7, 1965; its path came within 21 miles, and it killed 1 person. Of the 114, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 41 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 48. The most recent tornado was on July 3, 2023. Yankton has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 81% of the 61 South Dakota cities on this site. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 171 times since 1956, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Yankton has more hail reports within 10 miles than 73% of the 61 South Dakota cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Yankton
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s6
- 2000s30
- 1990s6
- 1980s23(1 EF3+)
- 1970s15(1 EF3+)
- 1960s22(5 EF3+)
- 1950s7(4 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 7, 1965 | F4 | 21 mi | 7.8 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Aug 3, 1981 | F3 | 22 mi | 12.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 1975 | F3 | 7 mi | 44.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 26, 1965 | F3 | 21 mi | 35.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 21, 1965 | F3 | 19 mi | 15.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 1962 | F3 | 20 mi | 9.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 21, 1962 | F3 | 18 mi | 71.7 mi | 0 / 7 |
| May 30, 1959 | F3 | 7 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1954 | F3 | 12 mi | 12.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1954 | F3 | 9 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 1954 | F3 | 19 mi | 10.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 30, 1959 | F2 | 8 mi | 26.8 mi | 1 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 114, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Yankton
The Storm Prediction Center has 171 hail reports within 10 miles of Yankton since 1956, made on 92 separate days. Of these, 98 were 1 inch across or larger, and 9 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently June 29, 2017. The most recent report is from June 27, 2025. June has the most reports, 51.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Yankton
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Yankton 2 E, SD, 2 miles east of Yankton at 1,180 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 87°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 10°F. June is the wettest at 4.0 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 28.9 inches over 55 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 33 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 158 nights a year. Snowfall averages 38.1 inches a year, most of it in February. That 28.9 inches is more than at 39 of the 43 South Dakota stations used on this site (91%). Crofton, NE, 10 miles southwest, has its own station (Crofton, NE): 29.4 inches a year, 0.5 more than here, and a July average high of 85°F against 87°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 10 | 0.7 | 2 | 6.7 |
| Feb | 35 | 14 | 0.9 | 2 | 8.5 |
| Mar | 47 | 25 | 1.6 | 4 | 4.7 |
| Apr | 60 | 35 | 3.4 | 6 | 3.7 |
| May | 72 | 48 | 3.7 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Jun | 82 | 59 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 87 | 64 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 85 | 62 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 52 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 39 | 2.6 | 5 | 0.8 |
| Nov | 47 | 25 | 1.3 | 3 | 5.9 |
| Dec | 34 | 15 | 1.0 | 3 | 7.6 |
| Year | 60 | 37 | 28.9 | 55 | 38.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Yankton 2 E, SD (1,180 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 Yankton
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 117 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Yankton: 101 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 flash floods, 4 floods, 2 heavy rain events and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on July 21, 2004. July has had the most flash floods, 4 of 9. Of the 59 South Dakota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 34 have had fewer than Yankton.
June 11, 2021: thunderstorm wind in Yankton — 1 injured, $1,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds toppled a large tree at the Marne Creek Apartments on the west edge of Yankton. An elderly man was (directly) injured when the tree fell near the building entrance.”
July 6, 2020: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Yankton — $1.3 million damage.
NWS: “While dime size hail and winds to around 60 mph occurred in Mission Hill, it was part of a 3 mile wide swath of more significant wind-driven hail from around 4 miles north northwest of Mission Hill to a mile south of Mission Hill. Corn and soybean fields were pulverized to stubble, with most trees stripped of leaves.”
August 18, 2011: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Yankton — $500,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage, including numerous trees blown down. Some homes were damaged by falling trees or tree debris.”
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 Yankton's ZIP code 57078 have filed 48 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1984, and were paid $774,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Late spring storms in 2011: 18 claims (38% of all) and $116,000. 48% 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, 17 have fewer than Yankton.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Late spring storms2011 | 18 | $116,000 |
Yankton County, which includes Yankton, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1976, 13 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 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 Yankton County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $19.4 million a year, the 10th highest of 66 South Dakota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.9 million (36%), 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 Yankton
- Crofton, NE10 mi
- Hartington, NE20 mi
- Vermillion, SD24 mi
- Springfield, SD27 mi
- Freeman, SD31 mi
- Beresford, SD34 mi
- Elk Point, SD38 mi
- Parker, SD39 mi
- Lennox, SD42 mi
- Parkston, SD44 mi
- Wagner, SD46 mi
- Akron, IA47 mi
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