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Day County, SD hail & severe wind history
176 storm reports on file for Day County between 2010-05-22 and 2026-06-29 — 75 hail and 101 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 10.4 reports a year, and Jun is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: Aug 14, 2025 — 1.5" (ping pong ball), 7.75 mi E of Pierpont.
- Hail was reported on 46 days since 2010 — about 2.7 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 2.5" (tennis ball) on Aug 28, 2021.
- Day County has more hail reports than 43% of the 66 South Dakota counties we cover.
Search every Day County report
Check a single date first, or filter the full record below — pick a year, narrow to a month, or drag the hail-size slider to see only the larger stones (1", quarter size, is the National Weather Service severe threshold).
Loading Day County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Day County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-06-13 | 10 | — | 90 mph |
| 2026-06-29 | 9 | — | 100 mph |
| 2016-08-10 | 8 | 1" (quarter) | 66 mph |
| 2016-08-01 | 7 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 90 mph |
| 2015-07-17 | 7 | 1.75" (golf ball) | 100 mph |
| 2022-05-12 | 7 | — | 81 mph |
| 2020-06-04 | 7 | — | 90 mph |
| 2021-08-28 | 5 | 2.5" (tennis ball) | — |
| 2015-05-10 | 4 | 2.5" (tennis ball) | — |
| 2024-06-02 | 4 | 2" (hen egg) | 64 mph |
Reports by year
Report counts are driven partly by how many people were around to report a storm, so recent years tend to look busier than the early 2010s. Treat the trend as a reporting trend, not purely a weather trend.
Notable large-hail events (2" and up)
| Date | Size | Near | What was reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-06-02 | 2" hen egg | 1.38 mi S of Webster Muni Arpt | No narrative filed |
| 2021-08-28 | 2.5" tennis ball | 5.96 mi WSW of Butler | A satellite depicted hail swath from a severe thunderstorm that started in Edmunds County across southern Brown County entered Day County continuing its crop damage. The storm weakened as it moved into Roberts County. The scar dimensions covered approximately 60 square miles in Day County. |
| 2021-08-28 | 2" hen egg | .84 mi SE of Butler | Windshields were broken and tree damage occurred from two inch hail. |
| 2021-08-28 | 2.5" tennis ball | 7.97 mi ESE of Webster Muni Arpt | No narrative filed |
| 2015-05-10 | 2.5" tennis ball | 6.9 mi ESE of Webster Muni Arpt | No narrative filed |
| 2010-08-01 | 2.5" tennis ball | 8.77 mi SSE of Webster Muni Arpt | No narrative filed |
When does hail hit Day County?
Across 17 years of records, June produced the most reports (60), followed by the months either side of it. Monthly totals:
| Month | Reports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0.0% |
| February | 0 | 0.0% |
| March | 0 | 0.0% |
| April | 2 | 1.1% |
| May | 23 | 13.1% |
| June | 60 | 34.1% |
| July | 36 | 20.5% |
| August | 50 | 28.4% |
| September | 2 | 1.1% |
| October | 3 | 1.7% |
| November | 0 | 0.0% |
| December | 0 | 0.0% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Day County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Brown County, SD | 400 | 4.25" |
| Spink County, SD | 207 | 4" |
| Codington County, SD | 161 | 3.75" |
| Marshall County, SD | 151 | 3" |
| Roberts County, SD | 143 | 2.5" |
| Clark County, SD | 135 | 2.75" |
| Grant County, SD | 100 | 2.75" |
See all 66 South Dakota counties →
Common questions about hail in Day County
- How often does it hail in Day County?
- Hail was reported on 46 separate days between 2010 and 2026, about 2.7 days a year, with June the busiest month for storm reports. 65 reports were quarter size (1") or larger.
- Does a report here mean hail hit my street?
- Not necessarily. Each report is one observation tied to a nearby landmark, and a county can be large. Storms also go unreported where few people live. Use the date check above to see what was reported nearby, and treat it as a starting point.
- How big is a 1.75" hailstone?
- Forecasters describe hail by everyday objects: 1" is a quarter, 1.75" a golf ball, 2.75" a baseball. The sizes in these reports are estimates made by the person reporting, not lab measurements.
- Where do I get the official record?
- All reports here come from the NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, which you can search directly. For anything formal, use NOAA’s own records rather than this page.
Look up another place
About these numbers
Every row above is a report filed with the National Weather Service and archived in the NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (FIPS 46037). Reports are eyewitness, trained-spotter and damage-survey observations, so they cluster near roads and towns and miss storms over empty country. Hail sizes are estimates. Damage figures are preliminary as filed and are never revised in this archive. Use this page for background, not for an insurance claim, a legal filing, or a roof assessment — for those, get the official record from NOAA directly.