Storms in South Dakota in 1981
Every storm the National Weather Service filed in South Dakota in 1981, with each episode’s narrative and every event in it. Before 1996 the record holds tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind only, without narratives; floods, heat, winter storms and the other kinds begin in 1996.
South Dakota in 1981 on the map
Every episode with a place to put it, colored by kind of event.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The year
- Events
- 159
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 2
- Damage
- $850,000
- Episodes
- 28
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
By kind of event
| Kind of event | Events | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | 71 | 0 | 0 | |
| Thunderstorm Wind | 68 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tornado | 20 | 0 | 2 | $850,000 |
Every episode, month by month
April 1981
May 1981
June 1981
- Hail in South Dakota, June 1, 1981
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, June 6, 1981
- Tornado and Hail in South Dakota, June 12, 1981
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, June 13, 1981
- Tornado and Hail in South Dakota, June 21, 1981
- Tornadoes and Hail in South Dakota, June 23, 1981
- Damaging Winds in South Dakota, June 28, 1981
July 1981
- Hail in South Dakota, July 11, 1981
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, July 12, 1981
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, July 14, 1981
- Damaging Wind in South Dakota, July 15, 1981
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, July 16, 1981
- Tornadoes and Hail in South Dakota, July 19, 1981
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, July 21, 1981
- Tornadoes and Hail in South Dakota, July 22, 1981
- Tornadoes and Hail in South Dakota, July 23, 1981
- Damaging Wind in South Dakota, July 24, 1981
- Hail in South Dakota, July 31, 1981
August 1981
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, August 1, 1981
- Tornadoes and Hail in South Dakota, August 3, 1981
- Hail in South Dakota, August 4, 1981
- Hail in South Dakota, August 21, 1981
- Hail in South Dakota, August 22, 1981
September 1981
More
Every year in South DakotaEvery state in 1981Tornadoes in South Dakota in 198119801982
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24.