As we transition from winter to spring, we trade one set of severe weather possibilities for other equally destructive scenarios.

Our recent above-average snowfall raises the potential for flooding and we're also entering the time of the year when severe thunderstorms and tornadoes can pop up at any time.

And while there is always a randomness to these extreme weather events, there are some areas that have historically been at the center of the devastation.

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Recently, USA TODAY looked at thirty years of presidential disaster declaration data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the numbers show that in our part of the world severe storms account for the majority of the disaster declarations.

In South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota now fewer than eight different counties have had severe storms resulting in double-digit disaster declarations in the past three decades.

In the Mount Rushmore State, Hanson County (County Seat: Alexandria) and Turner County (County Seat: Parker) lead all counties in the state with 19 total disaster declarations since 1990.

SOUTH DAKOTA COUNTIES WITH THE MOST FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTERS (1990-2022)

  • Hanson County (19 total - 9 severe storms, 9 floods, 1 snowstorm)
  • Turner County (19 total - 12 severe storms, 7 floods)
  • Day County (18 total - 11 severe storms, 7 floods)
  • Deuel County (18 total - 10 severe storms, 7 floods, 1 snowstorm)
  • Gregory County (19 total - 10 severe storms, 7 floods, 1 snowstorm)

In the Hawkeye State, Buchanan County (County Seat: Independence) has seen the most declarations.

IOWA COUNTIES WITH THE MOST FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTERS (1990-2022)

  • Buchanan County (19 total - 11 severe storms, 8 floods)
  • Clayton County (18 total - 10 severe storms, 8 floods)
  • Butler County (17 total - 10 severe storms, 7 floods)
  • Des Moines County (17 total - 9 severe storms, 8 floods)
  • Fayette County (17 total - 8 severe storms, 9 floods)

In the North Star State, Yellow Medicine County (County Seat: Granite Falls) tops all counties with 17 declarations.

MINNESOTA COUNTIES WITH THE MOST FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTERS (1990-2022)

  • Yellow Medicine County (17 total - 11 severe storms, 6 floods)
  • Clay County (15 total - 8 severe storms, 7 floods)
  • Blue Earth County (14 total - 3 severe storms, 8 floods, 3 tornadoes)
  • Faribault County (14 total - 7 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 tornadoes)
  • Freeborn County (14 total - 7 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 tornadoes)

Nationally, counties that are in notorious flood or tornado areas have had the highest number of disaster declarations in the past 30+ years.

U.S. COUNTIES WITH THE MOST FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTERS (1990-2022) 

  • Lawrence County, Kentucky (30)
  • Caddo County, Oklahoma (30)
  • Johnson County, Kentucky (28)
  • Perry County, Kentucky (28)
  • Magoffin County, Kentucky (28)
  • Logan County, Oklahoma (27)
  • Breathitt County, Kentucky (26)
  • Lafourche Parish, Louisiana (26)
  • Floyd County, Kentucky (26)
  • Owsley County, Kentucky (26)
  • Canadian County, Oklahoma (26)
  • Okmulgee County, Oklahoma (26)

LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades

Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.

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