Meade County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Mar 23, 2009Blizzard, Southern Meade Co Plains$4.0 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. Mar 23, 2009Blizzard, Northern Meade Co Plains$2.5 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…

3. Apr 18, 2006Winter Storm, Northern Black Hills$2.0 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…

4. Aug 17, 2007Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorms developed and remained stationary over the northeastern slopes of the Black Hills, producing very large hail and heavy rain. The most extensive damage was in the Piedmont area, where the hail broke windows and damaged roofs. Interstate 90 was lined with numerous vehicles that stopped after being damaged by the hail.

5. Jun 4, 2008Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   One to two inches of rain and four inches of hail fell in less than 30 minutes, causing flash flooding on the north side of Rapid City and Country Road along the Pennington/Meade County line. Homes, highways, and streets were damaged.

6. May 26, 2019Flash Flood$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain and hail caused flooding in the Sturgis area. Several road crossings across Bear Butte Creek and Deadman Gulch were inundated; including 7th Street, 9th Street, 15th Street, Raccoon Road, and Sly Street.

7. May 26, 2019Flash Flood$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three to four inches of rain in an hour and three to five inches of rain in two hours over parts of northeastern Meade County caused rapid rises on small creeks and overland flooding of rural areas. The flooding compromised five culverts and a bridge on county roads.

8. Jul 4, 2019Flash Flood$639,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extensive flooding occurred along Bear Butte Creek in Boulder Canyon through Sturgis to Fort Meade. Highway 34 was covered with water at the S-curve between Sturgis and Fort Meade, the Sturgis city park was completely underwater, and the 7th Street bridge at Bear Butte Creek was inundated. The Sly Street crossing, West Woodland Drive, and Blanche Street were damaged, as well as almost all the other crossings over Bear Butte Creek in Sturgis.

9. Apr 18, 2006Winter Storm, Sturgis / Piedmont Foothills$500,000
   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…

10. Jun 1, 2015Hail$500,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Tennis ball to softball sized hail pummeled Piedmont.

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

107°F7 times, most recently Jul 26, 2026

All-time low

−29°FDec 22, 1989

Warmest night

79°F2 times, most recently Jul 31, 1988

Coldest day

−23°FFeb 3, 1989

Wettest day

4.00 inJun 3, 1999

Snowiest day

20.0 inApr 18, 1970

Hottest year

1988mean 51.6°F

Coldest year

1996mean 43.2°F

Wettest year

201930.45 in

Driest year

20127.04 in

Snowiest season

80.3 in1969-70

Station Rapid City 4NW (USC00396947), 3,479 ft elevation, 11.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1949 to October 22, 2026; 88.0% 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 USC00396947.
• 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.