Alert archive / South Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2026
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 76, NWS Sioux Falls, SD
NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 31, 2026, 5:15 PM CDT for Miner County, South Dakota. It was in force for 11 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline as issued.
The facts
- Issued
- May 31, 2026, 5:15 PM CDT (22:15 UTC)
- Expired
- May 31, 2026, 5:26 PM CDT
- In force
- 11 min
- Issued by
- NWS Sioux Falls, SD
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
- Hail
- 1.0 in
- Wind
- 50.0 mph
County Miner County, SD
The radar
The Sioux Falls radar (KFSD), 90 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:17 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
Did it verify
Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.
Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.
The nearest sounding before it
Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 10.3 hours before the alert went out and 335 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- No buoyant parcel
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1793 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 19 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 139 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 146 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted.
611
WUUS53 KFSD 312215
SVRFSD
SDC097-312245-
/O.NEW.KFSD.SV.W.0076.260531T2215Z-260531T2245Z/
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Warning
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
515 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026
The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls has issued a
* Severe Thunderstorm Warning for...
Northern Miner County in east central South Dakota...
* Until 545 PM CDT.
* At 514 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over Vilas, or 21
miles southwest of Lake Thompson State Recreation Area, moving
north at 25 mph.
HAZARD...Quarter size hail.
SOURCE...Trained weather spotters. At 507 PM, quarter to half
dollar sized hail was reported near Vilas.
IMPACT...Damage to vehicles is expected.
* This severe thunderstorm will be near...
Carthage around 520 PM CDT.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a
building.
To report severe weather, contact your nearest law enforcement
agency. They will send your report to the National Weather Service
office in Sioux Falls.
&&
LAT...LON 4396 9778 4419 9782 4419 9742 4398 9755
4396 9764
TIME...MOT...LOC 2214Z 189DEG 22KT 4404 9764
HAIL THREAT...OBSERVED
MAX HAIL SIZE...1.00 IN
WIND THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX WIND GUST...<50 MPH
$$
SG1 follow-up statement
303
WWUS53 KFSD 312226
SVSFSD
Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
526 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026
SDC097-312235-
/O.CAN.KFSD.SV.W.0076.000000T0000Z-260531T2245Z/
Miner SD-
526 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026
...THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR NORTHERN MINER COUNTY IS
CANCELLED...
The storm which prompted the warning has weakened below severe
limits, and no longer poses an immediate threat to life or property.
Therefore, the warning has been cancelled. However, small hail and
heavy rain are still possible with this thunderstorm.
&&
LAT...LON 4396 9778 4419 9782 4419 9742 4398 9755
4396 9764
TIME...MOT...LOC 2221Z 189DEG 22KT 4411 9762
$$
SGWhat forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Sioux Falls, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at May 31, 12:38 PM CDT, 4 hours 37 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- Isolated to scattered thunderstorms should develop late this afternoon into early evening. Large hail up to half dollarand damaging winds to 60 mph would be the main hazards. A Level 1 of 5 risk for severe storms covers most of the area for this threat.
- Similar to today, a conditional Level 1 of 5 risk for severe storms covers the forecast area Monday afternoon. The chance of development looks lower than today, but if a storm can form, large hail and isolated damaging winds could occur.
- High chances (50-80%) for rain will persist through the bulk of next week. However, severe storm chances continue to look low (near 5% or less) through next week. The better chances for rainfall appear to be Wednesday in central SD and Wednesday night into Thursday area wide.
Area forecast discussion, May 31, 12:38 PM CDT, 4 hours 37 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD 1238 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Isolated to scattered thunderstorms should develop late this afternoon into early evening. Large hail up to half dollarand damaging winds to 60 mph would be the main hazards. A Level 1 of 5 risk for severe storms covers most of the area for this threat. - Similar to today, a conditional Level 1 of 5 risk for severe storms covers the forecast area Monday afternoon. The chance of development looks lower than today, but if a storm can form, large hail and isolated damaging winds could occur. - High chances (50-80%) for rain will persist through the bulk of next week. However, severe storm chances continue to look low (near 5% or less) through next week. The better chances for rainfall appear to be Wednesday in central SD and Wednesday night into Thursday area wide. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 1235 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026 An active pattern is expected over the next several days, although severe weather appears to remain a minor threat. Patchy heavy rain may play the bigger role with each event. For this afternoon and tonight, a small corridor of low level convergence and lift will focus near and just east of the James Valley. Clouds have cleared through early afternoon and temperatures have risen a touch. Along with this temperature rise is a turn in the surface winds to a more south to southwest direction vs. southeast. This is what is aiding in this low level convergence. The latest model soundings indicate something around 1500-2000 J/kg CAPE but weak, disorganized shear. This suggests severe weather should remain limited, but maybe a cell merger or two could produce a couple of updrafts strong enough to support hail to half dollar and wind gusts to 60 mph. Stronger storms will likely drift east or northeast at about 15 mph, so fairly slow moving. With this slower storm motion in mind, will need to keep an eye on the locally heavy rain potential. A handful of the latest hi-res models are showing small areas of 1-3" of rain with this development. One area to keep a closer eye on will be parts of Western Lake county, Northeast McCook and western Minnehaha where 1-3" of rain fell late last night. The question becomes what will drive development; will it be diurnal heating, which would allow updrafts to start developing around 19- 21z, or will it be the weak wave which moves into the area closer to 0-3z this evening. The latest HRRR and Nam output agree with the later start times, with the Nam indicating a stronger cap and less development, while the RRFS and RAP kick off development a little sooner with weaker capping. With the clearing that we are seeing in central SD towards the James Valley we may see some development by mid to late afternoon as destabilization is more likely. Suspect some development between about 5-6pm. One last thing to watch out for, if we can get mid to late afternoon development, the LFC are marginally low and a weak convergent boundary should be in parts of south central and southeast SD, so an isolated funnel or two will be possible. While a marginal risk for severe weather is in place for Monday, confidence in the chances of development are very low. A capping inversion may win out and for now CAPE values only running around 1000 J/kg with continued weak shear, albeit a little bit better than today. Another wave moves through Tuesday but weak shear and weak instability suggest if anything can develop severe weather is very unlikely. Wednesday into Thursday looks like the better chance for more clouds and better rainfall chances. Broad southerly warm advection looks to bring in some weak elevated instability as low pressure tracks east through ND. For now not anticipating all day rainfall but should see off and on chances Wednesday and Thursday as this low tracks by to the north. Friday into Sunday will see periodic weaker waves move through the area with a continuation of relatively weak flow aloft. This continued weaker shear environment should keep severe weather threats very limited. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z MONDAY/... Issued at 1214 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026 Clouds continue to clear from southwest to northeast. An area of stratiform rainfall will drift northeast through southwest MN and northwest IA through mid afternoon. Patchy MVFR conditions will be possible. Otherwise scattered thunderstorms will become possible from about the James River to I-29 late afternoon through early evening, then drift into parts of southwest MN and northwest IA late evening and early overnight. A few of these storms could be strong to very locally severe with locally heavy rain likely with the stronger storms. IFR stratus and possibly fog will fill back in late tonight into Monday morning. No mention of fog for now as the stratus development will likely offset this development. Regardless of fog or stratus, an increased threat for IFR conditions. && .FSD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SD...None. MN...None. IA...None. NE...None. && DISCUSSION...08 AVIATION...08
Hazardous weather outlook, May 31, 1:33 PM CDT, 3 hours 42 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD 133 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026 IAZ001>003-012>014-020>022-031-032-MNZ071-072-080-081-089-090-097- 098-NEZ013-014-SDZ038>040-050-052>071-011845- Lyon-Osceola-Dickinson-Sioux-O'Brien-Clay-Plymouth-Cherokee- Buena Vista-Woodbury-Ida-Lincoln-Murray-Cottonwood-Nobles-Jackson- Pipestone-Rock-Dixon-Dakota-Beadle-Kingsbury-Brookings-Gregory- Jerauld-Sanborn-Miner-Lake-Moody-Brule-Aurora-Davison-Hanson-McCook- Minnehaha-Charles Mix-Douglas-Hutchinson-Turner-Bon Homme-Yankton- Union- 133 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for northwest Iowa, west central Iowa, southwest Minnesota, northeast Nebraska, central South Dakota, east central South Dakota, south central South Dakota and southeast South Dakota. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. A Level 1 of 5 risk for severe storms is in place for late this afternoon and evening. Isolated to scattered thunderstorms should develop late this afternoon between the James River and I-29, then progress eastward through the evening. A very isolated stronger storm could produce hail to half dollar and wind gusts to 60 mph. Locally heavier rain will also be possible with small swaths of one to three inches of rainfall. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday. There is a low chance for storms again Monday afternoon. Similar to today, confidence in storm development is low. However, if storms can develop, isolated damaging winds and large hail would be the main threats. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time.
In the hours before
Local storm report, May 31, 4:57 PM CDT, 18 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
457 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0435 PM Hail 2 NNW Emery 43.63N 97.64W
05/31/2026 E0.88 Inch Hanson SD Trained Spotter
&&
TRMLocal storm report, May 31, 5:15 PM CDT, 0 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
515 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0507 PM Hail 2 W Vilas 44.01N 97.63W
05/31/2026 M1.25 Inch Miner SD Trained Spotter
&&
TRMThe office that day
Everything else NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 4:51 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Miner | 24 min |
| May 31, 5:29 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Hanson, McCook | 31 min |
| May 31, 5:51 PM CDT | Flash Flood Warning | FSD | Hanson, Hutchinson, McCook | 3 hr |
| May 31, 5:57 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Hanson, Lake, McCook, Miner | 48 min |
| May 31, 6:07 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FSD | McCook | 38 min |
| May 31, 6:34 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | McCook | 41 min |
Nearby
Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in South Dakota, 2026Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2026
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.