Minnehaha County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Minnehaha 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, Minnehaha$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An extended period of precipitation began with freezing rain quickly producing heavy ice accumulations, ranging up to more than a half inch in Sioux Falls. The precipitation then changed to sleet and then snow, with sleet and snow accumulations reaching 10 inches near Wall Lake. Very many branches, limbs, whole trees, and power lines were downed by the weight of ice and accompanying wind. Both the Sioux Falls area and other urban areas and rural electric cooperatives suffered major power line damage.|Trees and tree debris blocked many roads, and damaged several vehicles and homes. Major power outages were reported, affecting tens of thousands of people. The winter precipitation…

2. Jun 16, 2004Flash Flood$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rainfall of 3 to 8 inches caused flooding of numerous basements. Structural damaged was caused to several of the basements as walls caved in. Ground floors of several residences, businesses, and schools were flooded, including a dentists office. There was significant damage to contents in the flooded buildings, including carpets, furniture, clothing, electronic equipment, and electric wiring. A mobile home park was especially hard hit, with all 37 units in the park flooded, and some units completely washed out. Many roads were flooded, and several were partly washed out, mainly at intersections. One parking lot caved in, with a driver barely escaping in his vehicle. Water and…

3. Jun 12, 2001Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flash flooding of streams, roads, lowlands, homes, and other buildings was especially severe in the Valley Springs area. Most of the town was flooded, with widespread damage to basements and first floors of homes. The flooding left a layer of mud over much of the town. The sewer system backed up, leaving sewage in several houses and apartments.. A mobile home park was hard hit, with damage to the mobile home structures as well as the contents. Flooding and debris left some roads in the area closed for three days. Vehicles were damaged. The flooding in Valley Springs was caused by four to seven inches of rain falling in one to two hours. Damage outside the Valley Springs area was…

4. Aug 31, 2013Hail$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Large hail broke windows and damaged many vehicles, as well as siding and roofs. One automobile dealer with a large temporary outdoor display reported four thousand vehicles were damaged.

5. Sep 10, 2019Tornado$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Shortly after touchdown just southeast of O'Gorman High School, the tornado struck a multi-story apartment building and removed a majority of the roof. Numerous trees were uprooted in residential areas north of 41st Street as the tornado continued in a general southeast direction. The tornado crossed 41st Street into a more commercial district, causing significant structural damage to several businesses, including the removal of the roof from one strip mall and exterior walls from another building. After another quarter mile of travel to the southeast, the tornado destroyed an apartment building garage. The tornado lifted before reaching the corner of 49th Street and Western…

6. Jun 5, 2014Hail$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Large hail caused widespread damage to vehicles, windows, roofs, and siding.

7. Mar 13, 2019Flood$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous flooding reports across the city of Sioux Falls and Minnehaha County, with several closed roads. Reports through social media as well as law enforcement. Other flooding resulted in extensive damage to public infrastructure including numerous county and township roads, culverts, and some bridges.

8. Jun 24, 2003Tornado$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado heavily damaged 20 or more homes in the Hartford Heights development east of Hartford. Roofs were removed from houses and garages were destroyed. The tornado uprooted large trees. Many of the homes had to be destroyed afterwards due to the amount of damage they received.

9. Jul 13, 1997Hail$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Large hail fell in an area about 5 miles wide and at least 15 miles long from west to northeast of Sioux Falls. Severe damage to vehicles occurred, including several which sustained total damage. homes and other buildings had windows broken and siding and roofs severely damaged. At least one satellite dish was damaged at the EROS Data Center and the building sustained other damage as well. Crops were severely damaged with many acres totally destroyed.

10. Jun 12, 2001Hail$2.0 million

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

110°F2 times, most recently Jun 21, 1988

All-time low

−36°FJan 19, 1970

Warmest night

81°F3 times, most recently Aug 22, 2023

Coldest day

−17°FFeb 8, 1933

Wettest day

5.44 inAug 7, 2022

Snowiest day

18.1 inMar 10, 1956

Hottest year

2012mean 50.6°F

Coldest year

1950mean 42.3°F

Wettest year

201939.54 in

Driest year

197611.42 in

Snowiest season

94.7 in1968-69

Station Sioux Falls (USW00014944), 1,495 ft elevation, 2.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1932 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% 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 USW00014944.
• 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.