Moody County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. May 5, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds caused widespread damage in the south part of Flandreau. Roofs on homes, apartment buildings, and other buildings were blown off or damaged. The roof of a large church was blown off, and parts of the roof damaged nearby homes. The Flandreau city office building had part of its south wall blown off, resulting in interior damage to ceiling tiles and insulation. Siding on other walls of this building and on numerous homes was damaged. Tree damage was widespread, including several trees blown down or uprooted. The winds blew down power lines, leaving parts of the city without power for almost three hours.

2. Apr 11, 2019Blizzard, Moody$840,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Blizzard conditions led to a shutdown of government offices and schools, and travel was not recommended due to the widespread whiteout conditions. Interstate 29 was closed from the evening of April 10 through noon on April 12. Storm-total snowfall from 4 to 8 inches occurred, with 8.0 inches 11 miles north of Colman and 5.4 inches at Flandreau. With winds gusting at times from 40 to 50 mph, many areas had snow drifts of several feet, making roads impassable. Ice accumulation of one-quarter to one-half inch occurred, resulting in scattered power outages as wind increased. Property damage costs include damage to utilities.

3. Sep 12, 2019Flood$604,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding resulted in some crop loss and 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. Crop loss estimates provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.

4. Nov 14, 1996Ice Storm, Moody$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An ice storm consisting of several periods of freezing rain caused widespread damage and paralyzed travel. Widespread damage occurred to electrical poles and lines, leaving thousands without power for up to four days. Numerous accidents occurred, including many vehicles which slid off the road. One fatality occurred in a semi accident on Interstate 90 near Plankinton on November 14th. Two fatalities occurred 9 miles south of Coleman when a car slid off a gravel road and into a stream, drowning the occupants, also on November 14th. A school bus slid into a ditch near Lennox on November 18th, causing four minor injuries. Several injuries due to falls were reported in the Sioux Falls…

5. Jun 24, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree and power line damage in Moody County. The winds also destroyed a feed mill and a mobile home.

6. Jul 1, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage in Flandreau, including numerous trees uprooted or snapped. Several homes and vehicles were damaged, mostly by falling trees or tree debris. A large camper in the city park was overturned. The winds and tree debris also damaged power lines, causing a power outage. Tree debris blocked numerous roads in and near town. Damage to the city's electrical system alone was later estimated at $125,000.

7. Mar 13, 2019Flood$260,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding resulted in damage to public infrastructure including county and township roads and culverts.

8. Sep 11, 2019Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   After excessive two-day rainfall during September 10-12 (6.57 inches near Aurora, 6.55 inches 3 miles west southwest of Brookings, 6.27 inches 8 miles south of Brookings), the Big Sioux River near Brookings (gage site BRKS2) reached the second highest stage on record of 5.39 feet above flood stage on September 13. Numerous county roads and bridges were inundated, with a few farm outbuildings engulfed in water. Agricultural flooding was extensive.

9. Jun 19, 1996Hail$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hail destroyed corn, bean, strawberry, and other crops over a wide area. The hail also broke windows and otherwise damaged cars and buildings. The damage was especially severe due to the long duration of the hail.

10. Apr 1, 2011Flood$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Major flooding of the Big Sioux River, as well as flooding of lakes and lowlands in the county, continued through April, though small stream flooding abated and flooding in other areas such as the city of Flandreau abated some. Some farmland remained flooded, both near to and away from the Big Sioux River. A few roads remained closed by the flooding for part of the month. Water was covering some other roads, mainly from flooded lowlands. Some roads were damaged. High water and groundwater levels from record precipitation in the year 2010, a main reason the flooding onset was so fast in March, was also a main reason that the flooding subsided so slowly during April.

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

112°FJul 24, 1940

All-time low

−40°FJan 1, 1974

Warmest night

80°FAug 15, 1937

Coldest day

−18°FJan 15, 1972

Wettest day

7.16 inMay 31, 2004

Snowiest day

16.0 inMar 31, 1896

Hottest year

1900mean 48.7°F

Coldest year

2013mean 38.7°F

Wettest year

201943.09 in

Driest year

197610.15 in

Snowiest season

76.8 in2018-19

Station Flandreau (USC00392984), 1,560 ft elevation, 3.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 23, 2026; 98.6% 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 USC00392984.
• 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.