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Walworth County, SD hail & severe wind history
202 storm reports on file for Walworth County between 2010-05-22 and 2026-06-27 — 98 hail and 104 severe thunderstorm wind. That averages 11.9 reports a year, and Aug is the busiest month.
At a glance
- Most recent hail report: Jun 2, 2026 — 1" (quarter), 10.12 mi ESE of Lowry.
- Hail was reported on 41 days since 2010 — about 2.4 hail days a year.
- Largest hail on record: 3" (teacup) on Aug 23, 2018.
- Walworth County has more hail reports than 66% of the 66 South Dakota counties we cover.
Search every Walworth 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 Walworth County storm reports…
Worst storm days in Walworth County
| Date | Reports that day | Largest hail | Peak gust |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-08-03 | 28 | 2.5" (tennis ball) | — |
| 2019-08-06 | 9 | 2.75" (baseball) | 60 mph |
| 2016-07-30 | 6 | 1.5" (ping pong ball) | 70 mph |
| 2025-07-09 | 6 | — | 81 mph |
| 2020-07-31 | 6 | — | 70 mph |
| 2018-07-04 | 5 | — | 96 mph |
| 2016-05-30 | 4 | 2" (hen egg) | 70 mph |
| 2017-07-19 | 4 | 1" (quarter) | 70 mph |
| 2010-05-22 | 4 | 1" (quarter) | — |
| 2010-06-16 | 4 | 0.75" (penny) | 81 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-08-28 | 2.5" tennis ball | 4.17 mi N of Lowry | No narrative filed |
| 2020-07-10 | 2" hen egg | 4.39 mi NNE of Glenham | No narrative filed |
| 2019-08-06 | 2.75" baseball | 6.19 mi NW of Java Jct | Golf ball to baseball size hail along with severe winds brought a destructive path of crops from northwest of Java to Java during the evening hours. The path width was anywhere from 2 to 5 miles. The destruction was shown on satellite. |
| 2019-08-06 | 2.75" baseball | 2.29 mi SSE of Java | Golf ball to baseball size hail broke home and vehicle windows. |
| 2018-08-23 | 3" teacup | 7.63 mi ESE of Lowry | No narrative filed |
| 2016-05-30 | 2" hen egg | 5.07 mi NW of Lowry | No narrative filed |
| 2012-08-03 | 2.5" tennis ball | 5.35 mi NE of Sitka | Crop damage was reported due to tennis ball size hail. |
| 2012-08-03 | 2.5" tennis ball | 4.01 mi NE of Sitka | Tennis ball size hail caused crop and roof damage. |
When does hail hit Walworth County?
Across 17 years of records, August produced the most reports (63), 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 | 5 | 2.5% |
| May | 18 | 8.9% |
| June | 47 | 23.3% |
| July | 61 | 30.2% |
| August | 63 | 31.2% |
| September | 8 | 4.0% |
| October | 0 | 0.0% |
| November | 0 | 0.0% |
| December | 0 | 0.0% |
Neighboring counties
Counties that share a border with Walworth County (U.S. Census county adjacency), where we have storm records:
| County | Storm reports | Largest hail |
|---|---|---|
| Corson County, SD | 281 | 2.75" |
| Dewey County, SD | 242 | 4" |
| Edmunds County, SD | 225 | 2.75" |
| McPherson County, SD | 184 | 2.75" |
| Potter County, SD | 126 | 3" |
| Campbell County, SD | 116 | 2" |
See all 66 South Dakota counties →
Common questions about hail in Walworth County
- How often does it hail in Walworth County?
- Hail was reported on 41 separate days between 2010 and 2026, about 2.4 days a year, with August the busiest month for storm reports. 88 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 46129). 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.