Aberdeen

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Brown County, the county that contains Aberdeen.

Claims by ZIP code

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).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Brown County, the county that contains Aberdeen.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Brown County, the county that contains Aberdeen.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. May 5, 2007Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very heavy rains of 5 to nearly 10 inches fell within a 6 to 10 hour period across most of Brown county causing widespread flash flooding. Most of the cities affected included Aberdeen, Warner, Columbia, Hecla, Groton, Barnard, Bath, and Stratford. Several hundred homes, some businesses, and countless roads were affected by the flooding. Aberdeen received the most extensive damage, especially the north side of Aberdeen. Seventy-five percent of the homes in Aberdeen received some water in their basements. Basement water levels ranged from a few inches to very deep water all the way up to the first floor of homes. Several homes had basement walls that collapsed. The overwhelming…

2. May 31, 1996Tornado$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An F1 tornado organized over the parking lot of the Target Shopping Center in Aberdeen and tracked northeast towards Bath. It destroyed a green house (a large tent) and it's contents in the Target parking lot, uprooted and snapped trees as it crossed U.S. Highway 12. In addition, it took out the south wall, including a large overhead door, of a cinder block warehouse, broke windows in buildings, and lifted a box car off the train tracks. It also tipped over several semi trailers (the tractors were not attached) rolled over and destroyed a motor home, and threw a pickup truck and it's occupant about 70 feet. The occupant was sligtly injured. Between Aberdeen and Bath, the tornado…

3. Apr 1, 2019Flood$745,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The continuation of snowmelt from a much above normal snowfall winter combined with a historic heavy snow/blizzard in mid-April resulted in widespread flooding across central and northeast South Dakota. Countless roads along with thousands of acres of cropland were flooded throughout April. Impacts include damaged roads, culverts, and bridges, and livestock, homes, and businesses were affected. Delayed planting resulted across all of the region as well. Cattle and calves were stressed by the cold and wet pattern, as the mud and cold caused some sickness with the livestock. Flooded roads made it difficult for many farmers or ranchers to get to their fields or livestock. There was a…

4. May 11, 1998Flood, Brown$460,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain of 2 to 4 inches with some amounts nearing 5 inches fell across a large part of the six county area mainly on the evening of the 11th. This round of heavy rain only exacerbated the already extensive flooding occurring from many years of above normal precipitation. Day county was most affected by this round of heavy rain where area lakes were already at new record levels. Blue Dog, Waubay, Rush, and Bitter Lake in Day County were just a few of the lakes hard hit again. In fact, extensive sandbagging was done around Blue Dog Lake to save many homes. Some residents of Blue Dog Lake said they had never seen the lake so high in over 35 years of living there. Many more roads…

5. Mar 20, 2009Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rapid snowmelt and ice jamming caused the Elm River near Westport to rise above flood stage on March 20th. The Elm River reached an all time record level of 22.69 feet on March 25th almost 9 feet above flood stage. The previous record was 22.11 feet set on Apri1 10th, 1969. The flood stage for the Elm River at Westport is 14 feet. The city of Westport was evacuated with the flood waters causing damage to many homes and roads in and around Westport. Also, many other roads and agricultural and pastureland along the river were flooded. The Elm River slowly receded and fell below flood stage on March 30th. ||The flood waters from the Elm River flowed south and into the northern…

6. Apr 10, 2023Flood$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The snowfall during the season in northeast and central South Dakota exceeded normal levels, with many locations ranking among the top 10 for the snowiest seasons. Additionally, the late spring conditions were unusually cold, resulting in a persistent and exceptionally deep snowpack until early April. The depth of the snowpack ranged from 15 to 30 plus inches, containing approximately 4 to 8 inches of snow water equivalent. However, the weather pattern shifted to abnormally warm conditions in the middle of April. Starting from April 9th, temperatures rapidly rose into the 40s and 50s in areas with deep snowpack, and occasionally reached the 60s and 70s thereafter. The rapid…

7. Jun 16, 2009Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Slow moving thunderstorms brought very heavy rains of 2 to 4 inches in and around Aberdeen causing extensive road flooding throughout the city. Dozens of basements were flooded and damaged along with some sewer backups. Many vehicles became stalled with the police sent out to direct traffic. There were also some power outages.

8. Jul 1, 2005Flood, Brown$88,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rains of three to seven inches fell across far eastern Brown, western and northern Day, and most of Marshall counties in late June causing widespread flooding. The flood waters slowly receded through July 10th. Many townhip roads and highways were flooded along with thousands of acres of cropland. Water surrounded several homes resulting in people being rescued. Some of the homes were flooded. Many bridges were damaged and roads and culverts were washed out. In Day county, 30 roads were washed out and 15 bridges needed repairs.

9. Mar 23, 2009Flood$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snowmelt and ice jamming caused the Maple River to flood in northwest Brown County. The Maple River flooded some homes in the town of Frederick along with many roads and pasture and cropland.

10. Apr 1, 2009Flood$75,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    March flooding of the James River continued from Columbia to Ashton throughout April. The James River went above flood stage at Redfield on April 18th and continued through the end of the month. The James River at Redfield rose to 25.7 feet on April 30th, almost 6 feet above the flood stage of 20 feet. The James River from Columbia to Ashton was from 6 to as much as 10 feet above flood stage throughout the month. ||The James River continued to cause major issues throughout Brown and Spink counties for roads, fields, cropland, along with some homes. State Highway 34 was closed for about two weeks at the state border near Hecla. The flooding washed away the highway base. The James…

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

115°F2 times, most recently Jul 9, 1936

All-time low

−46°F2 times, most recently Jan 12, 1912

Warmest night

83°F2 times, most recently Jul 11, 1936

Coldest day

−25°FJan 12, 1912

Wettest day

7.62 inMay 5, 2007

Snowiest day

18.0 inMar 28, 1900

Hottest year

1931mean 50.2°F

Coldest year

1950mean 38.8°F

Wettest year

189642.11 in

Driest year

19767.88 in

Snowiest season

109.8 in1936-37

Station Aberdeen (USW00014929), 1,383 ft elevation, 2.7 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 27, 2026; 100.0% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Brown County.

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).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00014929.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.