Campbell County
Population 1,377 (2025) 734 sq mi
Campbell County has recorded 17 tornadoes since 1950, 55th most of 66 counties in South Dakota; the most recent was on August 28, 2024.
Hazard fingerprint Each spoke is this county’s percentile among U.S. counties where that hazard occurs. How it is computed
- Tornado damage paths since 195017
- Wildfire burn scars since 19841
At a glance
The record for Campbell County in eight numbers. Each links to its section below.
Tornadoes since 1950
17
55th of 66 in South Dakota
Fewer than the typical South Dakota county, which has had 29
DetailsAcres burned since 1984
2,756
26th of 66 in South Dakota
1 large fire; the largest was Mound City, 2011
DetailsStrongest tornado
F3
June 21, 1983, 6.0 mile path
Snowiest season
89.5in
Winter of 2018-19
Tornadoes
About one every 4.5 years since 1950, one of them rated F3/EF3 or stronger.
Strongest
June 21, 1983
F3, 6.0 mile path
600 yards wide.
Most recent
Wednesday, August 28, 2024
EFU, 0.9 mile path
2 years ago.
Every recorded tornado
| Aug 28, 2024 | EFU | 0.9 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 28, 2024 | EF2 | 5.4 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 7, 2021 | EF0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| May 22, 2016 | EF0 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 25, 2013 | EF0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 3, 1996 | F0 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 22, 1983 | F2 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 21, 1983 | F3 | 6.0 | 4 | 0 |
| Jun 15, 1971 | F1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 14, 1970 | F2 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 14, 1970 | F1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 14, 1970 | F0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 14, 1970 | F0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 14, 1970 | F0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 13, 1965 | F2 | 4.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jun 8, 1964 | F1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| May 5, 1964 | F2 | 16.0 | 0 | 0 |
- Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Campbell County: 0.
- 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.
Hurricanes and tropical storms
No tropical storm or hurricane has tracked within 100 miles since records began in 1851.
Wildfire and smoke
2,756 acres burned in 1 large fire since 1984, equal to 0.6% of the land.
Largest
October 5, 2011
Mound City Fire, 2,752 acres
2,755 acres inside Campbell County.
Most recent
October 5, 2011
Mound City Fire
2,752 acres in total.
Every large fire
| Mound City | 2011 | 2,755 | 2,752 |
- 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
Smokiest year
2023: 64 days
Heavy smoke on 41 days in 2021, the most of any year.
Last 10 years
32.5 days a year
Medium or heavy smoke, 2016 to 2025.
2025
29 days
Medium or heavy smoke. 39 so far in 2026.
- 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.
Floods and flood insurance
1 federal flood insurance claims since 2019, with $166,000 paid.
Flood events since 1996
- Flood8
- Flash Flood6
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.
Drought
In severe drought or worse for 144 of 1,581 months since 1895 (9%); the longest spell lasted 24 months.
144
Months in severe drought or worse since 1895
58
Months in extreme drought
9%
Share of all months, severe or worse
35
Drought reports to the Weather Service since 1996
Lowest reading
August 1934
−9.15, extreme drought
Longest severe spell
24 months
April 1938 to March 1940.
Latest month
September 2026
+2.07, moderately wet
Last severe month: July 2021.
- 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.
Earthquakes
1 earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles since 1900; the largest was magnitude 4.4 in 1968.
0
Magnitude 2.5+ inside the county since 1973
2
Magnitude 3+ within 50 miles since 1973
1
Magnitude 4+ within 50 miles since 1900
0
Magnitude 5+ within 50 miles since 1900
Largest within 50 miles
July 8, 1968
Magnitude 4.4
Near Huff, North Dakota; 46.1 miles away, 16.8 miles deep.
Most recent, magnitude 3 or more
December 8, 2020
Magnitude 3.2
10 km NNW of Bowdle, South Dakota; 4.3 miles away.
Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles
| Jul 8, 1968 | 4.4 | 46.1 |
- 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).
- 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.
Severe weather and other events
523 events in the National Weather Service record, 477 of them since 1996.
86
Hail reports, 1 inch or larger
6
Hail, 2 inches or larger
106
Damaging gusts, 58 mph+
93
Winter weather events since 1996
9
Heat events since 1996
41
Cold events since 1996
Largest hail
July 7, 1990
5.00 inches
Strongest measured or estimated gust
August 3, 1996
90 mph
More event types since 1996
| Lightning | 1 | 0 |
| Dense fog and smoke | 2 | 0 |
Costliest events since 1996
- May 17, 2018Flash Flood$34,000
National Weather Service narrative
Heavy rains flooded several areas along Highway 271 in far southeast Campbell county along with many acres of crop and pastureland.
- Apr 1, 2019Flood$9,700
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…
- 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.
Weather records
From Pollock, 11.4 miles from the county’s population centre, with records from 1908.
- All-time high
- 118°FJul 20, 1934
- All-time low
- −51°FFeb 16, 1936
- Warmest night
- 81°F3 times, most recently Jul 10, 1936
- Coldest day
- −25°FJan 12, 1912
- Wettest day
- 5.10 inJun 30, 1909
- Snowiest day
- 15.0 inFeb 26, 2009
- Hottest year
- 1987mean 48.4°F
- Coldest year
- 1951mean 37.8°F
- Wettest year
- 201928.16 in
- Driest year
- 19363.66 in
- Snowiest season
- 89.5 in2018-19
Median first snow
November 10
Earliest: September 21, 1995
Median last snow
April 2
Latest: May 11, 1943
0 of 77 winters had no measurable snow.
Station Pollock (USC00396712), 1,639 ft elevation, 11.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1908 to October 22, 2026; 98.7% 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.
Federal disaster declarations
15 since 1953. The most recent: Covid-19 Pandemic, April 5, 2020.
| Apr 5, 2020 | Biological | DR-4527-SD |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | EM-3475-SD |
| Sep 23, 2019 | Flood | DR-4463-SD |
| Jun 7, 2019 | Flood | DR-4440-SD |
| Mar 10, 2010 | Severe Storm | DR-1887-SD |
| Mar 9, 2010 | Severe Storm | DR-1886-SD |
| Jun 16, 2009 | Severe Storm | DR-1844-SD |
| Sep 10, 2005 | Coastal Storm | EM-3234-SD |
| Apr 7, 1997 | Flood | DR-1173-SD |
| Jan 10, 1997 | Severe Storm | DR-1156-SD |
| May 26, 1995 | Flood | DR-1052-SD |
| Mar 14, 1995 | Snowstorm | DR-1045-SD |
| Jun 21, 1994 | Severe Storm | DR-1031-SD |
| Jul 19, 1993 | Severe Storm | DR-999-SD |
| Jun 17, 1976 | Drought | EM-3015-SD |
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.
How this compares
Where Campbell County stands among 66 counties in South Dakota and 3,143 in the United States.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 17 | 55 / 66 |
| Tornadoes rated F3/EF3 or stronger | 1 | 27 / 66 |
| Tropical cyclones within 50 mi | 0 | — |
| Hurricane-strength passes within 50 mi | 0 | — |
| Wildfire acres since 1984 | 2,756 | 26 / 66 |
| Flood insurance claims | 1 | 47 / 66 |
| Flood insurance paid | $166,000 | 32 / 66 |
| Disaster declarations | 15 | 56 / 66 |
| Flood events since 1996 | 14 | 62 / 66 |
| Hail and wind events since 1996 | 276 | 55 / 66 |
| Winter storm events since 1996 | 93 | 61 / 66 |
| Reported damage since 1996 | $44,000 | 65 / 66 |
| River crests at major flood stage | 0 | — |
| High tide flooding days a year, last 10 years | 0.0 | — |
| Months in severe drought since 1895 | 144 | 35 / 66 |
| Medium or heavy smoke days a year, last 10 years | 32.5 | 10 / 66 |
| Earthquakes M4+ within 50 mi since 1900 | 1 | 38 / 66 |
| Earthquakes M2.5+ in the county since 1973 | 0 | — |
Neighbouring counties
| Corson County | 23 | 0 |
| Emmons County ND | 43 | 0 |
| McIntosh County ND | 23 | 0 |
| McPherson County | 27 | 0 |
| Walworth County | 30 | 0 |
Sources and vintage
Every number on this page comes from these public records.
- 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 USC00396712.
- 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.