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NWS confirms another South Dakota derecho as storms include 4-inch hail near Timber Lake

Scott Waltman, Alexandra Hardle and Shelly Conlon, Aberdeen News
·5 min read

A year of weird weather continues across South Dakota.

The state saw significant hail and winds during storms on earlier this week, said Travis Tarver with the National Weather Service office in Aberdeen.

That's been the norm though spring and into summer.

The NWS confirmed that Tuesday's storms that rolled across much of the state qualified as a derecho.

"By definition, if the wind damage swath extends more than 240 miles and includes wind gusts of at least 58 mph (93 km/h) or greater along most of its length, then the event may be classified as a derecho," according to the NWS.

More: Castlewood School badly damaged by tornado; Noem declares state of emergency

Grapefruit-sized hail in Timber Lake area

Hail roughly 4 inches in diameter was reported just north of Timber Lake in Dewey County, Tarver said. That's about the size of a grapefruit. Though Tarver said he has seen hail that size before, it's not common.

Grapefruit-sized fell near Timber Lake during Tuesday's derecho.
Grapefruit-sized fell near Timber Lake during Tuesday's derecho.

A 91 mph wind gust was reported about 4 miles north of Agar in Sully County, said Tarver. The region largely saw wind gusts between 70 and 90 mph, with a handful of 80 mph wind gusts reported in Hand County.

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There were also reports of a roof being blown off of a home in Highmore as well as tree damage in Miller.

More: Aberdeen sets rainfall record Sunday; 4.35 inches reported near Columbia

In Corson County west of the Missouri River, there was extensive damage to an outdoor storage building, said Megan Mulford, a meteorologist in the Aberdeen NWS office. And there were uprooted trees and a damaged grain bin in Dewey County, she said. Golf ball-sized hail was reported in Harding County.

Although tornado warnings for Hand and Hyde counties were issued Tuesday, there have not been any confirmed tornadoes, Tarver said.

More: NWS confirms derecho swept through southeastern South Dakota with winds up to 99 mph

Northeastern South Dakota was spared the worst of it, though there was plenty of thunder and lightning in the Aberdeen area Tuesday morning and a splash of rain in Watertown. High winds generally skirted the region.

Rainfall totals reported to the NWS in the 24 hours that ended at 7 a.m. Wednesday follow:

  • Pierre: 1.92 inches

  • Harold: 1.91 inches

  • Gettysburg: 1.85 inches

  • Onida: 1.63 inches

  • Highmore: 0.83 inch

  • Watertown: 0.16 inch

  • Aberdeen: 0.06 inch

Those totals are in addition to Sunday night's rainfall. Aberdeen received a July 3 record 2.11 inches, and there was a report of 4.35 inches in the Columbia area.

Many eastern South Dakota towns have seen more rainfall than normal

Many towns across the region have had plenty of extra moisture this spring, leading to flooding along the James River and wet fields for farmers. But that doesn't apply to every community. Watertown, Hayti, Roscoe, Summit, Turton and Wilmot are among the towns that had had below-average precipitation in 2022.

But Aberdeen, Bowdle, Eureka, Faulkton, Ipswich, Milbank, Mobridge, Pollock and Sisseton are well ahead of pace.

A list of precipitation totals this year through Thursday evening compared to NWS historical norms follows.

  • Aberdeen: 16.04 inches compared to an average of 11.71 inches.

  • Watertown: 11.56 compared to 11.69.

  • Bowdle: 12.6 compared to 10.93.

  • Castlewood: 11.23 compared to 12.3.

  • Clark: 12.48 compared to 12.19.

  • Columbia: 13.21 compared to 11.32.

  • Eureka: 11.69 compared to 10.98.

  • Faulkton: 14.17 compared to 11.92.

  • Ipswich: 14.81 compared to 10.66.

  • Hayti: 10.45 compared to 11.79.

  • Milbank: 14.13 compared to 12.66.

  • Mobridge: 10.94 compared to 9.79.

  • Pollock: 12.82 compared to 9.44.

  • Roscoe: 11.46 compared to 11.53.

  • Roy Lake: 12.52 compared to 12.59.

  • Selby: 10.29 compared to 10.22.

  • Sisseton: 12.81 compared to 11.53.

  • Summit: 8.52 compared to 12.63.

  • Turton: 9.49 compared to 12.88.

  • Victor: 14.52 compared to 13.05.

  • Webster: 12.3 compared to 13.08.

  • Wilmot: 11.6 compared to 12.57

  • Browns Valley, Minn.: 13.34 compared to 12.94.

  • Ortonville, Minn: 10.03 compared to 12.66.

  • Wheaton, Minn.: 15.04 compared to 12.79.

The southeastern and central parts of the state saw the worst of Tuesday's storms. A peak gust of 96 mph was recorded in Huron, and there was a 99 mph gust near Howard, according to the NWS. Wind gusts reached 80 mph at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport, causing considerable tree damage, downing power lines and leaving some 30,000 customers without electricity.

The skies in the Sioux Falls area turned an eerie green before the storms hit. Green skies often come with severe weather, but that doesn't mean there will be tornadoes and there isn’t a direct correlation between the two, according to AccuWeather.

More: Presidential disaster declaration approved for South Dakota following May 12 tornadoes, derecho

A previous derecho swept across eastern South Dakota on May 12. The NWS confirmed 16 tornadoes in that storm, which badly damaged the school in Castlewood. Those storms led to a presidential disaster declaration, making Federal Emergency Management Agency recovery funds available. Tuesday's system wasn't nearly as severe.

Aberdeen, Watertown forecast

More moisture could come this week, if the forecast holds.

In Aberdeen, there's a 30% chance of rain and thunderstorms on Friday and Saturday. And the weekend will be hot with projected highs of 86 on Friday, 92 Saturday and 90 Sunday, according to the NWS.

For Watertown, the weather will be much the same, with a 20% chance of rain Friday night and a 30% chance on Saturday night. The forecast calls for highs of 85 on Friday, 89 on Saturday and 90 on Sunday.

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: South Dakota derecho includes grapefruit-sized hail, green skies