Alert archive / South Dakota / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2026
Severe Thunderstorm Warning 80, NWS Sioux Falls, SD
NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 31, 2026, 7:08 PM CDT for McCook County, Minnehaha County, South Dakota. It was in force for 52 min. 4 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.
The facts
- Issued
- May 31, 2026, 7:08 PM CDT (00:08 UTC)
- Expired
- May 31, 2026, 8:00 PM CDT
- In force
- 52 min
- Issued by
- NWS Sioux Falls, SD
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
- Tornado
- Possible
- Hail
- 1.0 in
- Wind
- 60.0 mph
Counties McCook County, SD, Minnehaha County, SD
The radar
The Sioux Falls radar (KFSD), 37 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:10 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.
What was reported inside it
| Time | Report | Where | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 7:20 PM CDT | HAIL 1 | 5 Nw Wall Lake, SD | Photo and report via social media. |
| May 31, 7:26 PM CDT | HAIL 1 | 2 Wsw Humboldt, SD | In addition to hail up to the size of quarters, heavy rainfall was reported. |
| May 31, 7:39 PM CDT | HAIL 1 | 3 Ssw Humboldt, SD | Report and video via social media. |
| May 31, 7:40 PM CDT | HAIL 1 | 2 Ese Humboldt, SD | Report and photo via social media. |
Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.
Did it verify
Verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow matched 4 storm reports to this severe thunderstorm warning; the first came 12 minutes after it went out.
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
Aberdeen, SD (KABR), launched 00:00Z, 0.1 hours before the alert went out and 170 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
- 1517 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -19 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1020 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 16 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 120 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 168 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted.
010
WUUS53 KFSD 010008
SVRFSD
SDC087-099-010100-
/O.NEW.KFSD.SV.W.0080.260601T0008Z-260601T0100Z/
BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Severe Thunderstorm Warning
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
708 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026
The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls has issued a
* Severe Thunderstorm Warning for...
Southwestern Minnehaha County in southeastern South Dakota...
Southeastern McCook County in southeastern South Dakota...
* Until 800 PM CDT.
* At 708 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located near Montrose, or
near Lake Vermillion State Recreation Area, moving east at 15 mph.
HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect wind damage
to roofs, siding, and trees.
* This severe thunderstorm will be near...
Lake Vermillion State Recreation Area, Humboldt, and Montrose
around 715 PM CDT.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Remain alert for a possible tornado! Tornadoes can develop quickly
from severe thunderstorms. If you spot a tornado go at once into the
basement or small central room in a sturdy structure.
For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a
building.
Torrential rainfall is occurring with this storm, and may lead to
flash flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways.
&&
LAT...LON 4355 9728 4372 9734 4380 9704 4357 9698
TIME...MOT...LOC 0008Z 256DEG 13KT 4366 9722
TORNADO...POSSIBLE
HAIL THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...1.00 IN
WIND THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX WIND GUST...60 MPH
$$
SG1 follow-up statement
191
WWUS53 KFSD 010028
SVSFSD
Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
728 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026
SDC087-099-010100-
/O.CON.KFSD.SV.W.0080.000000T0000Z-260601T0100Z/
Minnehaha SD-McCook SD-
728 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026
...A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 800 PM CDT
FOR SOUTHWESTERN MINNEHAHA AND SOUTHEASTERN MCCOOK COUNTIES...
At 728 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over Humboldt, or
near Lake Vermillion State Recreation Area, moving east at 25 mph.
HAZARD...60 mph wind gusts and quarter size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Hail damage to vehicles is expected. Expect wind damage to
roofs, siding, and trees.
Locations impacted include...
Humboldt.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Remain alert for a possible tornado! Tornadoes can develop quickly
from severe thunderstorms. If you spot a tornado go at once into the
basement or small central room in a sturdy structure.
For your protection move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a
building.
Torrential rainfall is occurring with this storm, and may lead to
flash flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways.
&&
LAT...LON 4355 9723 4367 9728 4378 9704 4357 9698
TIME...MOT...LOC 0028Z 264DEG 21KT 4364 9711
TORNADO...POSSIBLE
HAIL THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...1.00 IN
WIND THREAT...RADAR INDICATED
MAX WIND GUST...60 MPH
$$
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, 6:55 PM CDT, 13 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- Isolated to scattered thunderstorms should develop late this afternoon into early evening. Large hail up to half dollar and 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, 6:55 PM CDT, 13 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD Issued by National Weather Service Rapid City SD 655 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 dollar and 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...(For the 00Z TAFS Through 00Z Monday Evening) Issued At 651 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026 Isolated showers and thunderstorms will continue to be possible across the area through the early evening hours. Low stratus is expected to develop tonight over southwest Minnesota and eastern South Dakota, especially near and east of I-29. Highest confidence location for this MVFR to IFR stratus regarding the TAF sites will be at KFSD. Winds will turn light through the overnight hours, and this could also result in fog, though confidence is a bit lower in development. Additional showers and storms may develop Monday afternoon, but low confidence in development and location of these storms preclude mention in the TAFs at this time. && .FSD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SD...None. MN...None. IA...None. NE...None. && DISCUSSION...08 AVIATION...13
Hazardous weather outlook, May 31, 1:33 PM CDT, 5 hours 35 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, 2 hours 11 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, 1 hour 53 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
&&
TRMLocal storm report, May 31, 5:45 PM CDT, 1 hour 23 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
545 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0530 PM Hail 1 WSW Emery 43.60N 97.63W
05/31/2026 E1.00 Inch Hanson SD Trained Spotter
Very heavy rain along with penny to quarter
sized hail. Rainfall is already over 3
inches.
&&
TRMLocal storm report, May 31, 6:09 PM CDT, 59 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
609 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0600 PM Funnel Cloud 1 N Bridgewater 43.57N 97.50W
05/31/2026 McCook SD Trained Spotter
&&
TRMLocal storm report, May 31, 6:13 PM CDT, 55 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
613 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0607 PM Tornado 1 NW Bridgewater 43.56N 97.52W
05/31/2026 McCook SD Storm Chaser
Tornado is kicking up dust from the ground
now.
&&
TRMThe office that day
Everything else NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 31, 7:06 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FSD | McCook, Minnehaha | 39 min |
| May 31, 7:23 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Lincoln, Turner | 52 min |
| May 31, 7:42 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FSD | McCook, Minnehaha | 23 min |
| May 31, 7:50 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FSD | Turner | 40 min |
| May 31, 7:54 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Minnehaha | 51 min |
| May 31, 8:03 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FSD | Minnehaha | 42 min |
| May 31, 8:21 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Lincoln, Turner | 54 min |
| May 31, 8:29 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FSD | Lincoln, Turner | 46 min |
| May 31, 8:42 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Clay, Lincoln, Turner, Yankton | 63 min |
| May 31, 8:43 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FSD | Minnehaha | 32 min |
| May 31, 8:57 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FSD | Lincoln, Turner | 35 min |
| May 31, 9:11 PM CDT | Tornado Warning | FSD | Clay, Union | 49 min |
| May 31, 9:43 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Clay, Union | 47 min |
| May 31, 11:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | Union | 52 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; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.