South Dakota hail risk

66 counties scored 0 rated Very High

Pennington County has the highest hail risk in South Dakota, scoring 96.9 out of 100 — rated "Relatively High" by FEMA's National Risk Index. Recorded hail events across South Dakota have decreased 21% over the past five years compared to the prior five-year period.

#	County	NRI score	Rating	NOAA events 2016–2026
1	Pennington County	96.9	Relatively High	631
2	Minnehaha County	92.5	Relatively Moderate	102
3	Brown County	86.5	Relatively Moderate	84
4	Yankton County	85.4	Relatively Moderate	45
5	Lawrence County	84.3	Relatively Moderate	179
6	Beadle County	77.3	Relatively Moderate	52
7	Lincoln County	76.9	Relatively Moderate	41
8	Charles Mix County	76.7	Relatively Moderate	82
9	Brookings County	75.9	Relatively Moderate	35
10	Butte County	74.4	Relatively Moderate	106
11	Hutchinson County	74.1	Relatively Moderate	58
12	Union County	73.5	Relatively Moderate	27
13	Marshall County	71.9	Relatively Low	15
14	Meade County	71.8	Relatively Low	280
15	McCook County	71.2	Relatively Low	34
16	Moody County	70.8	Relatively Low	18
17	McPherson County	70.6	Relatively Low	55
18	Spink County	70.5	Relatively Low	51
19	Codington County	70.2	Relatively Low	54
20	Faulk County	69.8	Relatively Low	42
21	Lyman County	69.4	Relatively Low	67
22	Day County	69	Relatively Low	44
23	Lake County	68	Relatively Low	34
24	Roberts County	67.9	Relatively Low	20
25	Turner County	67.3	Relatively Low	36
26	Tripp County	67	Relatively Low	62
27	Davison County	66.2	Relatively Low	29
28	Brule County	65.9	Relatively Low	43
29	Clay County	65.1	Relatively Low	28
30	Hanson County	65.1	Relatively Low	12
31	Corson County	64.8	Relatively Low	52
32	Walworth County	63.5	Relatively Low	46
33	Kingsbury County	61.8	Relatively Low	26
34	Fall River County	60.2	Relatively Low	117
35	Dewey County	57.8	Relatively Low	70
36	Oglala Lakota County	57.2	Relatively Low	104
37	Edmunds County	56.7	Relatively Low	65
38	Hamlin County	56.4	Relatively Low	49
39	Todd County	54.6	Relatively Low	70
40	Clark County	53.6	Relatively Low	30
41	Douglas County	53.3	Relatively Low	33
42	Grant County	53.3	Relatively Low	24
43	Hand County	52.3	Relatively Low	61
44	Bon Homme County	52.2	Relatively Low	44
45	Campbell County	50.8	Relatively Low	22
46	Aurora County	50.7	Relatively Low	35
47	Deuel County	49.9	Relatively Low	20
48	Gregory County	48.4	Relatively Low	58
49	Jerauld County	47.2	Relatively Low	25
50	Potter County	45.8	Relatively Low	31
51	Custer County	44.1	Relatively Low	231
52	Bennett County	40.7	Relatively Low	53
53	Sanborn County	40.6	Relatively Low	17
54	Miner County	39.2	Relatively Low	14
55	Jackson County	36.2	Relatively Low	71
56	Perkins County	34.7	Relatively Low	106
57	Sully County	34.7	Relatively Low	28
58	Ziebach County	31.5	Very Low	24
59	Hyde County	29.2	Very Low	29
60	Hughes County	27.1	Very Low	54
61	Buffalo County	25.9	Very Low	7
62	Harding County	24.1	Very Low	113
63	Mellette County	22.5	Very Low	44
64	Haakon County	20.4	Very Low	60
65	Jones County	13.5	Very Low	38
66	Stanley County	10.7	Very Low	41

Source: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0, December 2025. Scores are 0–100 percentile rankings among all US counties. See the methodology page for definitions. Download the full CSV for all counties.

Hail risk nationally:

Top 50 US counties

Other hazard risks in South Dakota:

Wildfire Inland Flooding Coastal Flooding Earthquake Heat Wave Tornado Hurricane Strong Wind Winter Weather Ice Storm Cold Wave Lightning Drought Landslide Avalanche Tsunami Volcanic Activity

Frequently asked questions

What is the highest hail risk county in South Dakota?

Pennington County, SD has the highest hail risk in South Dakota, with a FEMA National Risk Index score of 96.9 out of 100 (rated "Relatively High").

What causes hail risk in South Dakota?

Hail risk reflects expected annual losses from damaging hailstones to structures, vehicles, and crops. High scores cluster in the central plains and Front Range — a corridor sometimes called "Hail Alley" — where large-diameter hail is most frequent. Hail causes over $10 billion in US property damage in active years, much of it to roofs, vehicles, and crops.