Columbia, SD Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Columbia is about the same as South Dakota average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Columbia is about the same as South Dakota average and is lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #420
| Columbia, SD | 0.00 |
| South Dakota | 0.05 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| Columbia, SD | 0.0000 |
| South Dakota | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #176
| Columbia, SD | 116.14 |
| South Dakota | 114.73 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 1,813 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Columbia, SD were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 15 | Cold: | 2 | Dense Fog: | 0 | Drought: | 0 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 144 | Hail: | 960 | Heat: | 1 | Heavy Snow: | 11 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 0 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 24 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 602 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 6 | Winter Storm: | 24 | Winter Weather: | 0 |
| Other: | 24 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Columbia, SD.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Columbia, SD.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Columbia, SD.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 35 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Columbia, SD.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 4.7 | 1996-05-31 | 3 | 45°28'N / 98°29'W | 45°42'N / 97°58'W | 27.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 1 | 750K | 0 | Brown |
| Brief Description: An F1 tornado organized over the parking lot of the Target Shopping Center in Aberdeen and tracked northeast towards Bath. It destroyed a green house (a large tent) and it's contents in the Target parking lot, uprooted and snapped trees as it crossed U.S. Highway 12. In addition, it took out the south wall, including a large overhead door, of a cinder block warehouse, broke windows in buildings, and lifted a box car off the train tracks. It also tipped over several semi trailers (the tractors were not attached) rolled over and destroyed a motor home, and threw a pickup truck and it's occupant about 70 feet. The occupant was sligtly injured. Between Aberdeen and Bath, the tornado contained multiple vortices as it strengthened to an F3. Most trees in a shelter belt northeast of Aberdeen were snapped or uprooted and a garage was completely destroyed. Several farms were hit 1 to 2 miles north of Bath. Many outbuildings were destroyed. Two layers of shingles were peeled off a garage and several trees were uprooted. Twelve to 15 high tension utility poles were damaged or destroyed and 17 wooden poles were destroyed along the path of the tornado. The outages caused by the tornado affected several hundred customers. The tornado continued to the northeast producing F1 damage between Bath, Putney, and Claremont. It snapped and uprooted many trees. Outbuildings like grain bins and calf barns were destroyed. Debris was deposited 1 mile away in some instances. A John Deere chopper was turned 180 degrees by the twister. The tornado continued on into Marshall County where it weakened and dissipated near Amherst. No damage was reported in Marshall county except for some trees downed. | |||||||||||
| 10.2 | 1978-06-15 | 2 | 45°28'N / 98°18'W | 0 | 15 | 250K | 0 | Brown | |||
| 10.5 | 2002-06-23 | 4 | 45°41'N / 98°26'W | 45°49'N / 98°23'W | 9.00 Miles | 900 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Brown |
| Brief Description: A powerful supercell thunderstorm produced six tornados from eastern McPherson county and across northern Brown county during the evening hours of June 23rd. The first weak tornado (F0) touched down briefly 6.4 miles northeast of Leola and resulted in no damage. The second tornado (F1) touched down 8.5 miles northeast of Leola and crossed over into Brown county where it dissipated 9 miles northwest of Barnard. This tornado brought down many trees and a barn and caused damage to the siding and the roof of a farmhouse in McPherson county and caused no damage in Brown county. A third weak satellite tornado (F0) occurred following the dissipation of the second tornado and resulted in no damage. A fourth strong tornado (F3) developed 6 miles west of Barnard and moved east and dissipated 3 miles southeast of Barnard. This tornado brought down some high power lines along with a support tower and tossed a pickup truck 100 yards into a group of trees. The pickup truck was totaled. The tornado caused extensive damage to two farmhouses, several farm buildings, and farm equipment. One farmhouse lost its garage and most of its roof with many trees completely snapped off down low and debarked. The fifth tornado developed 5 miles southeast of Barnard and became a violent tornado (F4). This tornado caused damage to one farmhouse, several outbuildings, trees, and equipment as it moved northeast and strengthened. The tornado then completely demolished two unoccupied homes, several outbuildings, many trees, along with destroying or damaging some farm equipment before dissipating 7.6 miles northeast of Barnard. Also, a sixth weak satellite tornado (F0) occurred with this violent tornado and caused no damage. This was the first F4 tornado recorded in Brown county and one of few recorded in South Dakota. The total estimated property loss exceeded a million dollars. | |||||||||||
| 10.7 | 1955-04-19 | 2 | 45°30'N / 98°30'W | 45°34'N / 98°30'W | 4.60 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Brown |
| 12.8 | 2002-06-23 | 3 | 45°44'N / 98°37'W | 45°42'N / 98°27'W | 10.00 Miles | 900 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Brown |
| Brief Description: A powerful supercell thunderstorm produced six tornados from eastern McPherson county and across northern Brown county during the evening hours of June 23rd. The first weak tornado (F0) touched down briefly 6.4 miles northeast of Leola and resulted in no damage. The second tornado (F1) touched down 8.5 miles northeast of Leola and crossed over into Brown county where it dissipated 9 miles northwest of Barnard. This tornado brought down many trees and a barn and caused damage to the siding and the roof of a farmhouse in McPherson county and caused no damage in Brown county. A third weak satellite tornado (F0) occurred following the dissipation of the second tornado and resulted in no damage. A fourth strong tornado (F3) developed 6 miles west of Barnard and moved east and dissipated 3 miles southeast of Barnard. This tornado brought down some high power lines along with a support tower and tossed a pickup truck 100 yards into a group of trees. The pickup truck was totaled. The tornado caused extensive damage to two farmhouses, several farm buildings, and farm equipment. One farmhouse lost its garage and most of its roof with many trees completely snapped off down low and debarked. The fifth tornado developed 5 miles southeast of Barnard and became a violent tornado (F4). This tornado caused damage to one farmhouse, several outbuildings, trees, and equipment as it moved northeast and strengthened. The tornado then completely demolished two unoccupied homes, several outbuildings, many trees, along with destroying or damaging some farm equipment before dissipating 7.6 miles northeast of Barnard. Also, a sixth weak satellite tornado (F0) occurred with this violent tornado and caused no damage. This was the first F4 tornado recorded in Brown county and one of few recorded in South Dakota. The total estimated property loss exceeded a million dollars. | |||||||||||
| 14.6 | 1966-07-31 | 2 | 45°26'N / 98°31'W | 45°27'N / 98°27'W | 2.30 Miles | 253 Yards | 1 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Brown |
| 15.8 | 1969-06-25 | 3 | 45°27'N / 98°05'W | 1.50 Miles | 133 Yards | 0 | 6 | 250K | 0 | Brown | |
| 16.8 | 2010-05-22 | 2 | 45°51'N / 98°18'W | 45°52'N / 98°17'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Brown |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: An eighth tornado touched down west of Hecla producing damage to one farm including tearing the roof off of an outbuilding and throwing several grain bins 100 yards or more. Widespread tree damage was also noted. The tornado continued northeast damaging another outbuilding and destroying an empty grain bin before lifting. Wind speeds were estimated between 112 and 120 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Several supercell thunderstorms developed along a very strong warm front and produced nine tornadoes from Akaska to Bowdle to Hecla. The largest of the tornadoes was an EF4 tornado which occurred near Bowdle. This tornado produced devastating damage in the Bowdle area. The other tornadoes ranged from EF0 to EF2 and caused extensive tree and building damage. Nearly one-hundred power poles were downed along with several high line towers leaving nearly a thousand customers without power. Also, very strong straight line winds and large hail up to the size of golfballs affected parts of the area causing some damage. | |||||||||||
| 18.6 | 1996-05-31 | 3 | 45°41'N / 97°59'W | 45°44'N / 97°55'W | 5.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Marshall |
| Brief Description: An F1 tornado organized over the parking lot of the Target Shopping Center in Aberdeen and tracked northeast towards Bath. It destroyed a green house (a large tent) and it's contents in the Target parking lot, uprooted and snapped trees as it crossed U.S. Highway 12. In addition, it took out the south wall, including a large overhead door, of a cinder block warehouse, broke windows in buildings, and lifted a box car off the train tracks. It also tipped over several semi trailers (the tractors were not attached) rolled over and destroyed a motor home, and threw a pickup truck and it's occupant about 70 feet. The occupant was sligtly injured. Between Aberdeen and Bath, the tornado contained multiple vortices as it strengthened to an F3. Most trees in a shelter belt northeast of Aberdeen were snapped or uprooted and a garage was completely destroyed. Several farms were hit 1 to 2 miles north of Bath. Many outbuildings were destroyed. Two layers of shingles were peeled off a garage and several trees were uprooted. Twelve to 15 high tension utility poles were damaged or destroyed and 17 wooden poles were destroyed along the path of the tornado. The outages caused by the tornado affected several hundred customers. The tornado continued to the northeast producing F1 damage between Bath, Putney, and Claremont. It snapped and uprooted many trees. Outbuildings like grain bins and calf barns were destroyed. Debris was deposited 1 mile away in some instances. A John Deere chopper was turned 180 degrees by the twister. The tornado continued on into Marshall County where it weakened and dissipated near Amherst. No damage was reported in Marshall county except for some trees downed. | |||||||||||
| 19.3 | 1953-06-15 | 2 | 45°30'N / 97°59'W | 45°35'N / 97°52'W | 7.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Day |
| 22.4 | 1961-09-07 | 2 | 45°45'N / 98°44'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Mcpherson | |||
| 22.8 | 1955-06-28 | 2 | 45°18'N / 98°10'W | 45°20'N / 98°03'W | 5.40 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Brown |
| 23.5 | 1965-05-20 | 3 | 45°55'N / 98°29'W | 45°58'N / 98°25'W | 3.80 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Brown |
| 24.1 | 2010-05-22 | 2 | 45°36'N / 98°54'W | 45°41'N / 98°43'W | 10.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Mcpherson |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A tornado entered southeast Mcpherson county from northeast Edmunds county. The tornado struck a farm along State Highway 45 where a calving shed was completely destroyed with large sections of the roof blown over 100 yards. The tornado then caused moderate damage to a barn with one collapsed wall. Multiple softwood and hardwood trees were uprooted and many power poles were completely snapped near the base. The tornado tore the roof off a turkey barn at the Long Lake Colony. Several Wetonka homes also sustained minor roof damage. The wind speeds were estimated between 111 and 120 mph. The tornado then moved into western Brown county and dissipated. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Several supercell thunderstorms developed along a very strong warm front and produced nine tornadoes from Akaska to Bowdle to Hecla. The largest of the tornadoes was an EF4 tornado which occurred near Bowdle. This tornado produced devastating damage in the Bowdle area. The other tornadoes ranged from EF0 to EF2 and caused extensive tree and building damage. Nearly one-hundred power poles were downed along with several high line towers leaving nearly a thousand customers without power. Also, very strong straight line winds and large hail up to the size of golfballs affected parts of the area causing some damage. | |||||||||||
| 26.1 | 1996-07-17 | 2 | 45°29'N / 97°51'W | 45°30'N / 97°45'W | 5.00 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 200K | 0 | Day |
| Brief Description: A tornado touched down one mile southwest of Pierpont and traveled east northeast. Two miles east of Pierpont the tornado took out the west wall and the roof of a farmhouse, destroyed a machine shop, a garage, and six grain bins. A truck had its windshield crushed and its side was dented by debris. The tornado also brought down some power lines and several trees in its path. | |||||||||||
| 26.8 | 1973-07-01 | 3 | 45°15'N / 98°30'W | 0.30 Mile | 30 Yards | 1 | 3 | 25K | 0 | Brown | |
| 27.3 | 1999-07-27 | 2 | 45°59'N / 98°31'W | 45°59'N / 98°31'W | 2.00 Miles | 40 Yards | 0 | 0 | 800K | 0 | Dickey |
| Brief Description: One half mile debris from 3 mobile homes. Large trees uprooted. 70kt winds reported with storm. | |||||||||||
| 28.1 | 1966-07-31 | 2 | 46°00'N / 98°30'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Dickey | |||
| 28.6 | 1961-06-21 | 3 | 45°28'N / 98°14'W | 44°59'N / 97°59'W | 35.40 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Brown |
| 31.1 | 2010-05-22 | 2 | 45°32'N / 99°00'W | 45°36'N / 98°54'W | 7.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Edmunds |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The seventh tornado formed in northeast Edmunds county and tracked northeast. The tornado took off sections from the roof of a barn. The tornado then tracked through primarily crop and pasture land to near Deerfield Colony and into southeast Mcpherson county. Sporadic tree damage was observed along the tornado path with many wooden power poles completely sheared off. Wind speeds with this tornado were estimated between 111 and 120 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Several supercell thunderstorms developed along a very strong warm front and produced nine tornadoes from Akaska to Bowdle to Hecla. The largest of the tornadoes was an EF4 tornado which occurred near Bowdle. This tornado produced devastating damage in the Bowdle area. The other tornadoes ranged from EF0 to EF2 and caused extensive tree and building damage. Nearly one-hundred power poles were downed along with several high line towers leaving nearly a thousand customers without power. Also, very strong straight line winds and large hail up to the size of golfballs affected parts of the area causing some damage. | |||||||||||
| 31.9 | 1956-06-21 | 2 | 45°10'N / 98°28'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Spink | |||
| 32.7 | 1961-06-28 | 2 | 45°36'N / 97°38'W | 1.00 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Marshall | |
| 35.0 | 1957-06-20 | 2 | 46°06'N / 98°06'W | 2.00 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Dickey | |
| 38.2 | 1968-06-09 | 2 | 45°50'N / 97°38'W | 45°53'N / 97°34'W | 3.80 Miles | 283 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Marshall |
| 38.5 | 1973-07-01 | 3 | 46°02'N / 97°47'W | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Sargent | |||
| 39.5 | 1961-06-28 | 2 | 45°37'N / 99°38'W | 45°30'N / 98°37'W | 49.70 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Mcpherson |
| 40.5 | 1959-07-07 | 2 | 45°03'N / 98°05'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Spink | |||
| 41.2 | 1962-07-06 | 2 | 45°56'N / 99°04'W | 45°55'N / 99°01'W | 3.00 Miles | 550 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Mcpherson |
| 44.2 | 1957-06-20 | 2 | 45°01'N / 98°38'W | 1 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Spink | |||
| 44.5 | 1958-07-13 | 2 | 46°06'N / 97°42'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Sargent | |||
| 44.6 | 2005-06-29 | 2 | 45°57'N / 97°37'W | 46°02'N / 97°30'W | 8.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Sargent |
| Brief Description: Numerous trees were blown down or uprooted along the damage path. A roof was torn off a pole barn in Havana. Peak winds were estimated at 120 mph. | |||||||||||
| 45.1 | 1962-07-06 | 2 | 46°01'N / 99°03'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Mcintosh | |||
| 46.5 | 1962-07-06 | 2 | 46°02'N / 99°04'W | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Mcintosh | |||
| 48.0 | 1955-04-19 | 2 | 45°15'N / 99°10'W | 45°22'N / 99°14'W | 8.20 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Edmunds |
| 48.2 | 1964-06-08 | 2 | 45°05'N / 97°40'W | 0.50 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Clark | |
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.