Aurora County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Aurora County: 0.
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.

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.

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.

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.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jun 20, 2024Flood$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rainfall amounts across Aurora County from June 20-22 ranged from 3 to 9 inches. Widespread overland flooding ensued. ||Numerous county and township roads were impacted by flood waters and closed. Interstate 90 was closed near the Aurora/Davison County line and South Dakota Highway 16 was closed in multiple areas parallel to the interstate. Preliminary damage assessments estimate there to be 1.93 million dollars in damage to public infrastructure. ||Multiple structures were impacted by backed up water or sewage. Four residences reported damage in White Lake, estimated at a cost of 31 thousand dollars. Eighteen residences and 4 businesses in Plankinton reported damage, estimated at…

2. Nov 27, 2005Ice Storm, Aurora$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy freezing rain coated roads, trees, power lines, and most other objects with ice up to 3 inches thick. Travel quickly became difficult to impossible. Many roads including Interstate Highways 90 and 29 were closed for extended periods of time. Most schools and businesses were forced to close. Electric power was lost over widespread areas when many miles of power lines and thousands of poles were knocked down, with more damaged. Strong winds which accompanied the ice storm and the immediately following blizzard combined with the weight of the ice to bring down many of the power lines and poles. Tens of thousands of households and businesses lost power, with the time power was…

3. Sep 12, 2019Flood$709,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Around 80 percent of Aurora County experienced water over county and township roads, with the greatest impacts over the southern half of the county. Travel was not recommended from Thursday through Sunday. Interstate 90 was briefly closed between Plankinton and Mount Vernon due to areas of water across the roadway. Property damage costs include damage to public infrastructure.

4. Mar 16, 2019Flood$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snow melt and heavy rainfall (measured 1.80 inches at White Lake) resulted in significant flooding of agricultural lands and inundation of county roads as Firesteel Creek near Mount Vernon (gage site MTVS2) reached moderate flood stage, cresting 6.44 feet above flood stage on March 22.

5. Mar 13, 2019Flood$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding resulted in extensive damage to public infrastructure including numerous county and township roads, culverts, and some bridges. The property damage costs include estimates for public property losses.

6. May 5, 2007Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado destroyed a hunting lodge and nearby outbuildings. The tornado also severely damaged a house, tossed a trailer 100 yards, and caused tree damage.

7. Jun 3, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds partly or totally destroyed numerous farm buildings, moved a large semi-truck 30 feet, blew another semi-truck into a ditch, caused widespread tree and power line damage including 2 foot diameter trees blown down, and damaged homes and vehicles, mainly with flying debris. Power outages resulted from the power lines and poles being blown down.

8. Nov 28, 2005Blizzard, Aurora$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Snowfall varying from 4 to 15 inches combined with winds gusting over 50 mph to produce blizzard conditions. The heaviest snowfalls were mostly near and west of the James River, in the area where a severe ice storm immediately preceded the blizzard. Several reports of 6 to 8 foot drifts were received from this area. Visibilities were lowered frequently to zero and travel was made impossible in many areas. Roads, including Interstate Highways 90 and 29 were closed for extended periods of time. Most schools and businesses that were not already closed because of the ice storm were forced to close. The winds during the blizzard continued to bring down power lines and poles, most of…

9. Nov 14, 1996Ice Storm, Aurora$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An ice storm consisting of several periods of freezing rain caused widespread damage and paralyzed travel. Widespread damage occurred to electrical poles and lines, leaving thousands without power for up to four days. Numerous accidents occurred, including many vehicles which slid off the road. One fatality occurred in a semi accident on Interstate 90 near Plankinton on November 14th. Two fatalities occurred 9 miles south of Coleman when a car slid off a gravel road and into a stream, drowning the occupants, also on November 14th. A school bus slid into a ditch near Lennox on November 18th, causing four minor injuries. Several injuries due to falls were reported in the Sioux Falls…

10. Mar 10, 2005High Wind, Aurora$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Sustained winds of 40 to 45 mph with gusts above 60 mph persisted from mid morning until late afternoon. The winds caused widespread tree damage with branches and smaller tree debris broken off. Several power lines were knocked down by the wind or by wind blown debris. This resulted in several power outages, especially between the Missouri and James Rivers. Damages to buildings was mostly to shingles and gutters. However, a metal storage building was blown over at Mitchell. Also at Mitchell, construction barriers were blown over, and windows were broken in two vehicles by blowing rocks. An aluminum recycling cage was blown away at Woonsocket. A window was blown out at a school in…

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

116°FAug 4, 1934

All-time low

−32°F3 times, most recently Feb 9, 1994

Warmest night

82°FJun 30, 2002

Coldest day

−15°F2 times, most recently Feb 3, 1989

Wettest day

4.98 inJun 21, 2024

Snowiest day

16.0 inMar 10, 1956

Hottest year

1934mean 52.6°F

Coldest year

1950mean 43.1°F

Wettest year

196238.86 in

Driest year

19349.51 in

Snowiest season

72.9 in2010-11

Station White Lake (USC00399232), 1,629 ft elevation, 7.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1920 to October 4, 2026; 94.3% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USC00399232.
• 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.