Windy weather likely to continue

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Wind gusts reached up to 69 mph in south central South Dakota Wednesday, according to National Weather Service Meteorologist Brad Temeyer.

Temeyer, who is with the NWS’ South Dakota field office, said the day’s sustained wind speeds throughout most of the state were around 45 mph, though a gust of 69 mph was recorded in Buffalo at 2:14 a.m. Wednesday.

He said the strongest wind gust in Mitchell was reported to be around 60 mph.

Rapid City, Faith, Pierre and Chamberlain all reported 60 mph winds, he said, and a 66 mph wind gust was reported in Rapid City.

He said there were no damage reports Wednesday; however, the wind is not supposed to let up today.

Temeyer said the forecast predicts sustained speeds of 45 mph with gusts “in excess of” 50 mph for most of the day.

He said the winds stem from a low-pressure system centered across central Minnesota, which is not unusual for this time of year.

“The system is going to move very little over the next 24 hours, and because of that, that’s going to allow winds to continue,” he said.

Despite the day’s winds, there was little damage reported; according to Mitchell Public Safety, there were a few signs knocked down throughout the day, but nothing more.

Tags: weather, updates, wind, state