Rainfall totals South Dakota
No heavy-rain reports were filed in South Dakota in the last 24 hours. The state table below has the year to date totals for 2026.
as of
For normal annual precipitation from NCEI 1991-2020 normals, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is the highest placed South Dakota city in the ranking, at 106 of 145 tracked cities. Full city precipitation ranking
How much rain did South Dakota get?
| City | Year to date | Normal to date | vs normal | Rain days | Last rain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sioux Falls | 18.90 inches | 24.05 inches | -5.15 inches (-21%) | 74 | 0.40 inches Sep 29, 2026 |
| Rapid City | 10.94 inches | 15.57 inches | -4.63 inches (-30%) | 66 | 0.02 inches Sep 28, 2026 |
Station observations are from GHCN-Daily, with a 1-3 day lag and quality checks by NOAA. Averages are 1991-2020 normals from NCEI.
Rainfall records for South Dakota
| City | Wettest day | Wettest year | Average year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sioux Falls | 5.44 inches Aug 7, 2022 | 39.54 inches 2019 | 25.60 inches |
| Rapid City | 3.78 inches Jun 15, 1963 | 28.43 inches 2019 | 16.59 inches |
Rain questions
How many inches of rain per year does South Dakota get?
16.6 inches at Rapid City to 25.6 inches at Sioux Falls is the range of average annual rainfall among the cities measured here, based on 1991-2020 normals.
How do I find past rainfall totals for South Dakota?
This page has year-to-date totals and records for each station. Each city page keeps a day-by-day log. For older station history, use the NCEI past weather portal.
Rain events in South Dakota
| Dates | Top | Where | States | Reports |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 28 to October 2, 2026 | 10.41 inches | 3 N Lincoln, NE | 14 | 2,469 |
| September 23 to 24, 2026 | 2.50 inches | 4 SW Dickinson, ND | 4 | 25 |
| September 14 to 21, 2026 | 2.58 inches | Tilford, SD | 2 | 49 |
Counties with rain reports in South Dakota, 2026
- Pennington County67 · 2.61 inches
- Custer County26 · 1.84 inches
- Fall River County25 · 1.97 inches
- Meade County24 · 2.86 inches
- Lawrence County19 · 2.04 inches
- Tripp County17 · 1.56 inches
- Bennett County13 · 1.47 inches
- Mellette County12 · 1.24 inches
- Perkins County11 · 1.22 inches
- Codington County10 · 2.12 inches
- Haakon County9 · 1.17 inches
- Brown County7 · 1.35 inches
- Butte County7 · 0.77 inches
- Jackson County6 · 1.12 inches
- Lyman County5 · 1.89 inches
- Todd County4 · 1.31 inches
- Harding County4 · 0.69 inches
- Oglala Lakota County3 · 1.76 inches
- Hamlin County3 · 1.41 inches
- Stanley County3 · 1.08 inches
- Spink County2 · 1.17 inches
- Campbell County1 · 2.65 inches
- Hand County1 · 2.40 inches
- Buffalo County1 · 2.35 inches
- Corson County1 · 1.76 inches
- Dewey County1 · 1.68 inches
- Jones County1 · 1.17 inches
- Deuel County1 · 1.03 inches
- Grant County1 · 1.00 inches
- Hughes County1 · 1.00 inches
- Ziebach County1 · 0.70 inches
A county earns a spot here as soon as one report in the period is filed.
Recent days with reports in South Dakota
National Weather Service offices file Local Storm Reports; the Iowa Environmental Mesonet of Iowa State University relays them to this page, where they appear as live spotter reports. Under 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright attaches to the government-produced figures on this page, including reports, alerts, station observations, and normals, which were created by the National Weather Service and other NOAA offices. The notice that 17 U.S.C. 403 requires appears in this sentence. It does not imply endorsement by or affiliation with those agencies. See: Data sources and attribution.