Tornado Risk in Lincoln County, SD
Lincoln County's tornado history, by the numbers
60 tornado tracks have crossed Lincoln County since 1954 by NOAA's count, roughly one every 1.3 years - the High band on this site's scale. That is the 92nd percentile nationally for tornado frequency. South Dakota has 66 counties in this dataset; Lincoln County ranks 2 of them by frequency.
The number that matters more than frequency
No violent (EF4-5) tornado has been recorded in Lincoln County in NOAA's 76-year database. Of its 60 recorded tracks, 42 were weak (EF0-1) and 15 significant (EF2-3).
Shelter and safe-room economics
South Dakota does not currently have a confirmed state rebate layered on top of FEMA's 75% Hazard Mitigation cost-share, so a Lincoln County homeowner should expect the full national range: $2,890-$13,280, $7,645 typical.
Power after the storm, not just shelter during it
Power loss after a tornado outbreak in South Dakota often reaches homes the storm itself never touched. A battery-backup unit covers the outage without the fuel and venting a generator needs.
What Lincoln County's figure does not tell you
Lincoln County's figure is county-wide, not address-specific. Lincoln County covers about 577 square miles, so a single touch here counts the same as a single touch in a county a fraction of that size. NOAA also documents that older records undercount weaker tornadoes from before Doppler radar became standard. Lincoln County has about 75,244 residents.