South Dakota lightning risk
Pennington County has the highest lightning risk in South Dakota, scoring 91.2 out of 100 — rated "Relatively High" by FEMA's National Risk Index.
| # | County | NRI score | Rating |
NOAA events 2016–2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pennington County | 91.2 | Relatively High | 5 |
| 2 | Oglala Lakota County | 87.4 | Relatively High | 0 |
| 3 | Yankton County | 78.7 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 4 | Lawrence County | 73 | Relatively Moderate | 0 |
| 5 | Minnehaha County | 55.1 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 6 | Todd County | 46.9 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 7 | Meade County | 46.8 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 8 | Fall River County | 43.8 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 9 | Clay County | 35.8 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 10 | Union County | 32.1 | Relatively Low | 1 |
| 11 | Butte County | 29 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 12 | Charles Mix County | 28.7 | Relatively Low | 1 |
| 13 | Davison County | 28.5 | Relatively Low | 1 |
| 14 | Bennett County | 25.1 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 15 | Custer County | 24.9 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 16 | Lincoln County | 24.3 | Relatively Low | 0 |
| 17 | Jackson County | 20.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 18 | Tripp County | 19.3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 19 | Hughes County | 18.4 | Very Low | 0 |
| 20 | Dewey County | 16.4 | Very Low | 0 |
| 21 | Corson County | 14.8 | Very Low | 0 |
| 22 | Hutchinson County | 14 | Very Low | 1 |
| 23 | Bon Homme County | 13.3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 24 | Beadle County | 11.5 | Very Low | 0 |
| 25 | Mellette County | 11.2 | Very Low | 0 |
| 26 | Walworth County | 11.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 27 | Brule County | 10.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 28 | Lyman County | 10.5 | Very Low | 0 |
| 29 | Gregory County | 9.8 | Very Low | 0 |
| 30 | Hanson County | 9.5 | Very Low | 0 |
| 31 | Roberts County | 8.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 32 | Ziebach County | 8.5 | Very Low | 0 |
| 33 | Spink County | 8.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 34 | Codington County | 7.7 | Very Low | 1 |
| 35 | Lake County | 7.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 36 | Brown County | 7.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 37 | Brookings County | 7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 38 | Douglas County | 5.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 39 | Faulk County | 5.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 40 | McCook County | 5.4 | Very Low | 1 |
| 41 | Perkins County | 5.4 | Very Low | 0 |
| 42 | Turner County | 5.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 43 | Edmunds County | 4.9 | Very Low | 0 |
| 44 | Haakon County | 4.9 | Very Low | 0 |
| 45 | Moody County | 4.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 46 | Buffalo County | 4.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 47 | Potter County | 3.9 | Very Low | 0 |
| 48 | Stanley County | 3.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 49 | Day County | 3.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 50 | Kingsbury County | 3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 51 | Jerauld County | 2.9 | Very Low | 0 |
| 52 | Grant County | 2.6 | Very Low | 1 |
| 53 | Aurora County | 2.5 | Very Low | 0 |
| 54 | Marshall County | 2.4 | Very Low | 0 |
| 55 | Campbell County | 2.3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 56 | Jones County | 2.3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 57 | Hamlin County | 2.2 | Very Low | 0 |
| 58 | Harding County | 2.1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 59 | Sully County | 2 | Very Low | 0 |
| 60 | Sanborn County | 1.3 | Very Low | 0 |
| 61 | Deuel County | 1.1 | Very Low | 1 |
| 62 | Miner County | 1 | Very Low | 0 |
| 63 | McPherson County | 0.9 | Very Low | 1 |
| 64 | Hand County | 0.7 | Very Low | 0 |
| 65 | Hyde County | 0.6 | Very Low | 0 |
| 66 | Clark County | 0.5 | Very Low | 1 |
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.
Lightning risk nationally:
Other hazard risks in South Dakota:
Frequently asked questions
What is the highest lightning risk county in South Dakota?
Pennington County, SD has the highest lightning risk in South Dakota, with a FEMA National Risk Index score of 91.2 out of 100 (rated "Relatively High").
What causes lightning risk in South Dakota?
Lightning risk reflects expected annual losses from cloud-to-ground strikes, which ignite building fires, damage electrical systems, and cause fatalities. Florida consistently leads the US in lightning density. High scores also appear across the Gulf Coast, Southeast, and central Plains, where afternoon convective storms are most frequent in summer months.