How Likely Is a Tornado in Beadle County, SD?
Beadle County's tornado history, by the numbers
Beadle County has recorded 40 tornado touches in NOAA's 76-year database, a rate of roughly one every 1.9 years - our High band. Put another way: Beadle County sees more tornado activity than 80% of US counties. Among 66 South Dakota counties in this dataset, Beadle County ranks 16 for how often a tornado touches down.
Beyond the frequency band: violent history
1 tornado touching Beadle County reached violent (EF4-5) strength since 1950. That single fact carries more weight for the shelter decision than the county's overall frequency band.
The dollar figure Beadle County's rating leads to
Cost nationally: $2,890-$13,280, about $7,645 typical. South Dakota has no state rebate program confirmed here; FEMA's underlying 75% cost-share exists nationwide, but applying through a state program is what usually makes it real, and none was found for South Dakota this pass.
What a direct hit isn't required for
The storm that misses Beadle County outright can still take its power out - outbreak-scale outages across South Dakota are common well beyond the tracked path. A battery-backup unit handles that without a generator's setup or fuel.
What this number is, and is not
One caveat before relying on Beadle County's number: it is county-wide, and it covers about 1,259 square miles, so a single touch counts the same as one in a county a fraction of that size. Weaker pre-1990s tornadoes are also documented as undercounted in NOAA's own record. Beadle County has about 19,459 residents.