Strong storm hammers its way across South Dakota

Talk about it

Winds howled, hail rocketed off the ground and lightning cut a jagged path across the sky before slamming into the South Dakota soil as a strong summer thunderstorm powered across the state Thursday.

Trucks were blown off a highway, grain bins were damaged and a deck torn up near Presho, according to the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls. Winds gusted up to 80 mph in areas across the state and large hail was also reported.

NWS meteorologist Mike Fuhs said the storm ran from one end of the state to the other and left a vivid impression on people as a late-summer sky was shattered by bolts from the clouds.

“This line of storms had a lot of lightning,” Fuhs said.

In Mitchell, a tree was uprooted in the 400 block of East Hackberry Avenue, causing a brief power outage in the area, according to the Mitchell Police Division. Other trees were knocked down as the storm swept through the city.

Co-ed softball games were called off before the season-opening games, as lightning bolts replaced line drives in the air. Umpires told players the games would be rescheduled and dozens of players left Cadwell Park before a downpour hit around 7:30 p.m.

The state Class B amateur baseball tourney was halted by the storm but officials hoped to restart games as late as 1 a.m. today to keep the tournament on schedule.

About a half-inch of rain fell in Wessington Springs, according to Jerauld County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Krueger.

But despite reports of strong winds in the town, Krueger said he didn’t find a great deal of damage when he checked after the storm passed.

“Just a nice, much-needed rain,” he said.

Several trees were uprooted in Wessington, according to Fuhs, and Oacoma also reported 70-mph gusts.

Shingles were ripped from a roof in Kennebec and trees were also down there, he said.

Power outages were reported in Freeman, Huron and Wessington, as well as McCook, Lincoln, Hutchinson and Turner counties during the night, as the storms rolled through South Dakota.

The storm rampaged from the Black Hills to Aberdeen and Sioux Falls, with strong winds reported in most locations and large hail in some spots, Fuhs said.

A report of drifts of hail a foot deep was made two miles east of Onida, according to the NWS.

While the storm raged, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally continued, with actor Jeff Bridges and rockers Stevie Nicks and John Fogerty taking the stage at the Legendary Buffalo Chip Campground, despite the stormy skies.

Tags: news, weather, storms, region, hail