Harding County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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

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.

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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Mar 23, 2009Blizzard, Harding$6.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A powerful spring storm brought rain, snow, and very strong winds to western South Dakota. Precipitation started as rain, then changed to snow, and blizzard conditions developed. The heaviest snow fell over the northern Black Hills, where 18 to 48 inches of snow was measured. Ten to 20 inches of snow fell across far northwestern South Dakota, with drifts as high as ten feet. Most other locations received at least six inches of snow. Sustained winds of 30 to 55 mph, with gusts over 80 mph, were reported. Interstate 90 and other highways were closed for more than 24 hours. Some power outages were reported, mainly across the northern Black Hills and northwestern South Dakota. Tens of…

2. Apr 18, 2006Winter Storm, Harding$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A major spring storm moved across the Central and Northern Plains, bringing significant amounts of rain and snow and gusty winds to much of western South Dakota. Snowfall was heaviest across the northern and central Black Hills, as well as far northwest South Dakota, where 1 to 2 feet fell. Favored upslope areas of the northern Black Hills received 2 to 5 feet of snow. Strong northwest winds gusting to 60 mph, created blizzard conditions across Harding, Butte, and Lawrence counties. Drifts to 15 feet high were reported across Harding and Butte counties. Power poles and trees were downed by the combination of heavy wet snow and wind, which resulted in widespread and prolonged power…

3. Mar 30, 2009Blizzard, Harding$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The second blizzard in a week brought heavy snow and strong winds to the western South Dakota plains. Northwest wind gusts to 50 mph produced significant blowing and drifting snow, reducing visibilities to near zero for many hours. Reports of six to 12 inches of snow were common, with higher amounts across northwestern South Dakota. Interstate 90 and many other highways were closed for a considerable period of time. More livestock losses occurred during the peak of calving and lambing season.

4. May 20, 2011Flood$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Record flooding occurred on the Little Missouri River from the Montana state line southwest of Camp Crook to the North Dakota state line. Homes and rural roads along the river were inundated. The river gage crested at a record stage of 19.27 feet, which is 7.27 feet over flood stage, exceeding the stage of 17.67 feet set in 2009. The highest flow was 19,400 cubic feet per second.

5. Jul 26, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The combination of large hail and strong wind gusts caused property damage in Buffalo.

6. Sep 7, 2013Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three to five inches of rain was reported over northeastern Harding County. Runoff from the heavy rain inundated many roads, driveways, and fields in the area.

7. Jun 4, 2008Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Little Missouri River at Camp Crook crested at 14.04 feet, about 2 feet above flood stage. Minor flooding was reported around Camp Crook, Redig, and along the north fork of the Moreau River. Highway 79 was closed from Reva, south to the Butte County line.

8. Nov 5, 2008Blizzard, Harding$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense fall storm produced blizzard conditions across the South Dakota plains for over 24 hours. Precipitation started as rain during the day and changed to heavy, wet snow during the evening of the 5th. Snow and blowing snow continued through much of the 6th with visibility near zero much of the time. Snowfall amounts were six to 18 inches with drifts 12 feet high. More than two thousand power poles were downed, causing widespread power outages that affected thousands of residents. Some locations did not have power for over a week, especially across the Pine Ridge Reservation. Most roads across the area, including Interstate 90, were closed for 24 hours or longer. Many…

9. Jun 17, 2014Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three to five inches of rain caused significant flooding along Alkali Creek, Rabbit Creek, and the South Fork of the Moreau River and their tributaries. Several roads were flooded, including Jefferson Road southeast of Reva, Harding Road, and Camp Crook Road.

10. May 22, 2019Flood$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Runoff from heavy rain caused minor flooding throughout Harding County. Minor flooding was reported along the upper portions of the Grand River; Little Missouri River; and around Buffalo, Reva, and Ladner. The Little Missouri River crested a little over two feet above flood stage at the SD Highway 20 bridge on May 23, with a peak flow just over 5000 cfs.

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

114°FAug 1, 1900

All-time low

−57°FJan 12, 1916

Warmest night

85°F2 times, most recently Aug 9, 1947

Coldest day

−25°FJan 12, 1916

Wettest day

4.57 inJul 14, 1989

Snowiest day

22.0 in2 times, most recently May 2, 2008

Hottest year

2006mean 51.6°F

Coldest year

1950mean 40.4°F

Wettest year

192724.07 in

Driest year

19805.29 in

Snowiest season

100.4 in2010-11

Station Camp Crook (USC00391294), 3,120 ft elevation, 22.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 17, 2026; 96.3% 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 USC00391294.
• 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.