Douglas County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Douglas 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. Apr 9, 2013Winter Storm, Douglas$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An extended period of precipitation began with freezing rain quickly producing moderate to heavy ice accumulations, ranging up to more than a quarter of an inch. The precipitation then changed to sleet and then snow, with sleet and snow accumulations reaching 8.5 inches near Armour. Numerous branches and power lines were downed by the weight of ice and accompanying wind, with much of the power line damage affecting rural electric cooperatives. Trees and tree debris blocked roads, and damaged some vehicles and homes. Several power outages were reported. The winter precipitation made travel impossible in many areas, resulting in schools and businesses being forced to close.

2. May 10, 2015Tornado$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado, crossing into Douglas County from Charles Mix County, destroyed or damaged 84 structures in and near Delmont, and injured 9 people in Delmont. About 50 of the homes and other structures were destroyed or severely damaged. The damage included numerous small farm buildings totally destroyed, most at four farms south of Delmont, several houses severely damaged, a large and 100 year old church severely damaged, and a newly constructed fire hall destroyed. Power lines and poles were down and the town was without power and water for two days. 100 residents were displaced.

3. Nov 27, 2005Ice Storm, Douglas$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…

4. Jun 20, 1997Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds caused widespread damage in and near Armour. The roof was blown off of the high school and the school sustained additional damage. A house sustained heavy damage when the roof of the school landed on it. Numerous other structures including many homes suffered damage. There was widespread damage to trees and power lines, and much of the damage to structures was caused by tree debris.

5. Mar 13, 2019Flood$670,000
   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. Jun 21, 2024Flood$582,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rainfall amounts across Douglas County from June 20-22 ranged from 3 to 5 inches. Some overland flooding ensued with several township roads damaged by flood waters. In addition, three homes reported water damage. Preliminary damage assessments estimate loss to public infrastructure across the county to be 582 thousand dollars.

7. Jul 6, 1998Hail$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Large hail devastated crops, broke windows, and caused other damage to buildings and vehicles.

8. Nov 28, 2005Blizzard, Douglas$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. Sep 10, 2019Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   All roads leading into Delmont became impassable, with 6 inches or more flowing water over the roads. Numerous township roads in southeast Douglas County were also under water with several washed out culverts.

10. May 15, 2017Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Thunderstorms were moving into portions of Douglas County in the dawn hours when one of the storms produced a wet microburst resulting in very strong winds and widespread damage. Most of the damage was in and immediately around the town of Armour, SD.

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, 26.2 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.