Tripp County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. May 29, 2010Hail$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Golfball to baseball sized hail damaged homes and automobiles in Colome. A woman was hit in the head by a hail stone.

2. Jun 24, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind gusts to 75 mph downed numerous power poles and trees across south central Tripp County. A few small barns and sheds were also blown over by the wind. The combination of hail and wind destroyed siding on a house south of Winner and flattened crops.

3. Jun 5, 2008Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Rapid runoff from heavy rain washed out roads and flooded basements and driveways.

4. Jun 8, 2004Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Severe thunderstorms moved across northeastern parts of Todd County and central Tripp County, producing hail to the size of golf balls and heavy rains. Rainfall totals of 3 to 5 inches were common across these areas, with Okreek and Witten receiving around 8 inches of rain during the evening. Water in creeks across the area rose to bank full with many roads washed out or under water during the overnight. Lightning also struck the Okreek Community Center, completely destroying the building.

5. Mar 30, 2009Blizzard, Tripp$200,000
   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.

6. Aug 19, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Strong thunderstorm winds tore roofs off a 100 foot long dairy barn, a smaller barn, and a machine shed. The roofs were carried 50 yards to almost 1/2 mile away.

7. May 22, 2010Tornado$80,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado tracked along East 3rd Street in Winner, blowing down carports, trees, and tractor-trailers. A large barn was destroyed east of Winner; the curved roof was blown off in one piece and tossed across a corral. Another machine shed was blown apart. Based on the extent of the damage, wind speeds were estimated around 75 mph through town with peak winds 95 to 115 mph.

8. Aug 17, 2011Hail$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A supercell thunderstorm developed over Mellette County and moved southeastward, producing large hail across portions of Mellette and Tripp Counties.

9. Jun 9, 2003Hail$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Supercell thunderstorms developed in the vicinity of a frontal boundary and a surface low over Todd and Mellette Counties and slowly tracked eastward into Tripp County. Numerous reports of dime to golf ball sized hail were reported from the Mission and White River areas, eastward to Okreek, Winner, and Colome. A tornado developed 3 miles southeast of Winner and tracked southeastward toward Colome. The tornado dissipated west of Colome. The tornado was on the ground for about 10 minutes and produced only minor damage to a couple of farms.

10. Dec 25, 2009Blizzard, Tripp$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A powerful winter storm moved across the Northern and Central Plains, bringing heavy snow and very strong winds. The worst part of the storm impacted the area from Christmas morning through the morning of December 26, when snow and wind gusts to 80 mph produced near zero visibilities. Six inches to over two feet of snow fell across the plains, with the heaviest amounts from northwestern South Dakota southward to the Pine Ridge. Drifts of five to ten feet were reported. Many roads were closed or impassable during the storm, incuding Interstate 90, which was closed across the state for over 48 hours. Some power outages were also reported.

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

115°F2 times, most recently Jul 21, 1934

All-time low

−38°FFeb 6, 1936

Warmest night

83°F2 times, most recently Jul 24, 1936

Coldest day

−18°FFeb 8, 1936

Wettest day

5.00 inJun 12, 1977

Snowiest day

28.0 inApr 18, 1995

Hottest year

2012mean 53.8°F

Coldest year

2019mean 43.4°F

Wettest year

196240.67 in

Driest year

201210.45 in

Snowiest season

87.5 in1994-95

Station Winner (USC00399367), 2,016 ft elevation, 1.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1910 to October 18, 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 USC00399367.
• 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.