Ziebach County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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. Mar 23, 2009Blizzard, Ziebach$7.0 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. Jun 16, 2010Tornado$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Another tornado touched down just south of Dupree and moved along the west side of town. It tore the roof off the community center, damaged a house and garage, crumpled large grain bins, and tossed several mobile homes. One person was injured when a mobile home was blown into the car in which he had taken cover and another person received minor injuries.

3. May 26, 2019Flash Flood$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Three to five inches of rain fell in about two hours over portions of southern Ziebach County, causing rapid rises on small creeks and overland flooding of rural areas. Several county and BIA roads were washed out, including Dupree Road and BIA 9. US Highway 212 near mile marker 121 was also inundated.

4. Aug 1, 2011Hail$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The combination of large hail and 50 mph wind gusts caused damage throughout town.

5. Jun 6, 2008Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Homes and roads were flooded around the community of Cherry Creek.

6. May 22, 2019Flood$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Runoff from heavy rain caused overland flooding and flooding along Cherry Creek, Red Scaffold Creek, and Bear Creek. Several roads were inundated, including Bear Creek Road and Cherry Creek Road. Releases from Angostura Dam, combined with runoff from heavy rain, caused major flooding along the Cheyenne River. The Cheyenne River near Plainview reached a preliminary height of 22.87 feet and a peak flow of 61,900 cfs on May 23, which is a new record height and the second highest discharge ever recorded at the location.

7. Dec 25, 2016Blizzard, Ziebach$260,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense storm system moved across the Northern Plains, producing snow and strong winds across much of western South Dakota. Areas of freezing rain, freezing drizzle, sleet, and snow developed over the area in the morning, before changing to snow. Snowfall was heaviest during the late afternoon and nighttime hours. Four to eight inches of snow were reported across much of western South Dakota, with local amounts as much as a foot. Little or no snow fell across south central South Dakota, where temperatures were warm enough for mostly rain. Embedded thunder was also noted with the precipitation. Strong winds developed late in the day and continued into the next morning, with…

8. Jun 18, 2014Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding occurred along Bull Creek and Cherry Creek and its tributaries. Tankini and Red Scaffold Roads were flooded in a few locations. High water in Howes Grazing Lake and Lake Buffalo eroded the shoulder of SD Highway 34/73 between Bridger and Howes. The highway was closed for eight days while temporary repairs were made and both lakes were drained to more manageable levels. The highway was closed again in early August for five weeks so permanent repairs could be made.

9. Mar 30, 2009Blizzard, Ziebach$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.

10. Jun 5, 2008Flood$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A portion of the community of Cherry Creek was inundated by flood waters. Major flooding was reported along Cherry Creek, the Moreau River, the Cheyenne River, and their tributaries.

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

114°FJul 16, 2006

All-time low

−40°FJan 29, 1966

Warmest night

79°F2 times, most recently Jul 10, 1981

Coldest day

−21°FDec 22, 1989

Wettest day

4.51 inMay 19, 2013

Snowiest day

28.0 inApr 12, 1991

Hottest year

1981mean 48.9°F

Coldest year

1996mean 41.3°F

Wettest year

202530.85 in

Driest year

19748.71 in

Snowiest season

104.5 in1996-97

Station Dupree 15 Sse (USC00392446), 2,100 ft elevation, 5.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1963 to October 22, 2026; 97.2% 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 USC00392446.
• 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.