Hutchinson County

Every recorded tornado

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

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

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Apr 9, 2013Winter Storm, Hutchinson$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 the 5 to 8 inch range. 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. Jul 9, 2009Hail$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Large hail caused widespread damage to vehicles, windows, and siding and roofs on homes. The hail also caused widespread crop damage, with over 66 thousand acres affected. Damage to both property and crops was estimated to be in the millions of dollars.

3. Jun 5, 2008Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Repeated heavy rain from thunderstorms caused widespread flash flooding in western Hutchinson County. Communities affected included Parkston and Tripp, with Parkston being especially hard hit. Numerous roads and homes were flooded, including up to 200 homes in Parkston. Parks and businesses were also flooded. In nearby rural areas, numerous fields were flooded, causing an unknown amount of crop damage. Small streams such as Pony Creek in Parkston flooded, adding to the damage.

4. Mar 27, 2004High Wind, Hutchinson$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Brief high winds associated with the passage of a cold front uprooted a large tree, tore off shingles, and blew down a large metal television antenna about 6 miles north of Kaylor. The winds also blew part of the roof off a barn and damaged the walls of the barn 2 miles west of Silver Lake in the northeast corner of the county.

5. Nov 27, 2005Ice Storm, Hutchinson$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…

6. Apr 1, 2011Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Major flooding of the James River, as well as flooding of small streams and lakes in the county, continued through April. Much farmland remained flooded, both near to and away from the James River. The James River was 5.8 feet above flood stage northeast of Scotland on April 1st, and fell very slowly during the month. A large area of land and numerous roads were flooded at the start of the month. Water was running over other roads, from flooded streams, creeks, and fields as well as from the James River. Many roads were heavily damaged. Some homes and businesses were also flooded, with the flooding of these places slowly alleviating through the month. High water and groundwater…

7. Aug 7, 2000Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Large hail broke windows in vehicles and buildings. The hail also caused other damage to vehicles, and to roofs and siding of buildings. The hail also damaged crops in the area, but the amount of crop damage was not known.

8. Mar 13, 2019Flood$760,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding resulted in extensive damage to public infrastructure including numerous county and township roads, culverts, and some bridges.

9. Jun 20, 2024Flood$758,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rainfall amounts across Hutchinson County from June 20-22 ranged from 4 to 6 inches. Overland flooding ensued with additional major flooding along Wolf Creek and the James River. ||Multiple residences in Parkston, Tripp, Olivet, Menno, Freeman, and other smaller communities across the county had water or sewer backup into their homes. In addition, many roads had gravel wash and several culverts were swept away. Preliminary damage assessments estimate loss to public infrastructure across the county to be nearly 758 thousand dollars.||The majority of overland flooding subsided by June 24, but river flooding continued through the end of the month. For additional information on river…

10. Apr 10, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Thunderstorm winds caused widespread damage in Menno. Numerous trees including several large trees were uprooted. Numerous homes were damaged, some directly by the wind and others by tree and other debris. Garages were especially hard hit, including at least one garage which was destroyed. A grain elevator was damaged, with a catwalk and conveyor being blown over. An historical post office addition to a log building was destroyed, doors and part of the roof of a flour mill were blown down, and doors were blown off several other buildings. Many homes and other buildings had windows broken and siding damaged. A few small storage buildings were destroyed, and others were damaged or…

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

117°FJul 17, 1936

All-time low

−42°FFeb 2, 1905

Warmest night

87°FJun 30, 1921

Coldest day

−20°FJan 12, 1916

Wettest day

5.20 inMay 22, 1936

Snowiest day

18.0 inMar 16, 1917

Hottest year

2012mean 53.3°F

Coldest year

1996mean 44.5°F

Wettest year

194439.62 in

Driest year

198011.35 in

Snowiest season

68.2 in1959-60

Station Menno (USC00395481), 1,333 ft elevation, 11.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1896 to October 22, 2026; 99.5% 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 USC00395481.
• 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.