The Earliest Tornados in South Dakota History

I suppose, technically, if the conditions were right, South Dakota could have a tornado during any month of the year. However, our state is usually under the tornado gun from April through September. Thunderstorms that bring tornadoes are most likely to develop in the spring and early summer.

But, of course, there are outliers. Digging through the data from the NOAA Storm Events Database, we can find every tornado that's touched down in South Dakota since 1950. While April is the traditional start to tornado season in the upper Midwest, we've seen some earlier.

RELATED: Debunking 5 Common Tornado Myths in South Dakota

A Look at South Dakota’s March Tornadoes

Since 1950, South Dakota has experienced three tornado touchdowns in March and one in February.

March 23, 2009

In late March 2009, thunderstorms brought hail, wind, and an EF1 tornado to Bon Homme County, South Dakota. Bon Homme is located in southeast South Dakota, along the Missouri River on the Nebraska border. The twister touched down just north of Running Water, SD, and was on the ground for just a couple of minutes, destroying a garage and machine shed on a farm.

March 29, 1982

Bennett County is located in south-central South Dakota along the Nebraska border, just west of the Rosebud Indian Reservation. On March 29, 1982, a tornado touched down near Highway 18 in rural Bennett County. One injury from the F2 twister was recorded.

March 24, 1961

Haakon County in west-central South Dakota saw an F1 tornado touchdown south of Philip, SD, along the South Fork Bad River. It was on the ground for less than a minute, causing limited property damage.

RELATED: South Dakota's 4 Biggest Tornadoes of the Last 50 Years

The First February Tornado in State History

South Dakota has seen three March twisters in the last 76 years. Those are unusually early-season tornadoes. But, in 2025, the state got one even earlier.

On February 24, 2025, an EFU tornado touched down in Codington County, South Dakota. 'EFU' is the designation for a tornado when there isn't enough info to classify its strength on the Enhanced Fujita scale. It was spotted by a storm chaser east of Highway 81 near Appleby and was on the ground for just a few seconds.

"A weak thunderstorm generated a brief tornado in an open field. A storm chaser photographed the event. No damage was observed by this tornado, but it was the first February tornado to be documented in South Dakota history,"  - NOAA Storm Events Database.