Rapid City Metro Area Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
The chance of earthquake damage in Rapid City Area is about the same as South Dakota average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Rapid City Area is lower than South Dakota average and is much lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #404
| Rapid City Area | 0.07 |
| 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, #129
| Rapid City Area | 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, #713
| Rapid City Area | 46.29 |
| 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 5,390 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Rapid City Area 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: | 37 | Cold: | 9 | Dense Fog: | 0 | Drought: | 5 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 153 | Hail: | 3,296 | Heat: | 3 | Heavy Snow: | 30 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 0 | Ice Storm: | 1 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 120 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 1,551 | Tropical Storm: | 0 | Wildfire: | 34 | Winter Storm: | 46 | Winter Weather: | 2 |
| Other: | 103 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Rapid City Area.
Historical Earthquake Events
A total of 1 historical earthquake event that had a recorded magnitude of 3.5 or above found in or near Rapid City Area.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Depth (km) | Latitude | Longitude |
| 31.4 | 1966-06-26 | 4.1 | N/A | 44.3 | -103.4 |
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 11 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Rapid City Area.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 23.8 | 1991-05-11 | 3 | 44°12'N / 103°13'W | 2.00 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 20 | 2.5M | 0 | Meade | |
| 24.2 | 1991-05-11 | 2 | 44°11'N / 103°13'W | 1.00 Mile | 300 Yards | 0 | 5 | 250K | 0 | Meade | |
| 27.7 | 1967-06-18 | 2 | 44°04'N / 103°12'W | 1.00 Mile | 150 Yards | 0 | 3 | 2.5M | 0 | Pennington | |
| 30.7 | 1972-05-26 | 2 | 44°45'N / 102°55'W | 1.50 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Meade | |
| 33.7 | 1972-05-21 | 2 | 44°48'N / 102°39'W | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Meade | |||
| 39.7 | 2010-05-24 | 2 | 44°31'N / 102°07'W | 44°51'N / 102°10'W | 22.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 100K | 0K | Meade |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A tornado touched down south of Plainview and traveled more than 22 miles to (). It damaged a manufactured home shortly after it formed, tearing off its roof and blowing over its walls. It also destroyed an old, abandoned house and pole barn and tossed a combine, hay swather, and van. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Severe thunderstorms spawned five tornadoes from southeastern Meade into northeastern Perkins County. | |||||||||||
| 41.4 | 1966-07-23 | 2 | 43°58'N / 103°28'W | 43°56'N / 103°23'W | 3.80 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 5 | 25K | 0 | Pennington |
| 42.3 | 1955-09-20 | 2 | 44°43'N / 103°25'W | 1.30 Miles | 177 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Butte | |
| 42.4 | 1959-08-31 | 2 | 44°25'N / 101°55'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Haakon | |||
| 43.3 | 1965-07-18 | 3 | 44°36'N / 103°33'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Meade | |||
| 48.7 | 1966-06-22 | 2 | 43°41'N / 103°14'W | 43°42'N / 103°12'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Custer | ||
* 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.