Alert archive / Iowa / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2026

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 88, NWS Sioux Falls, SD

June 1, 2026Woodbury County, Iowa

NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 1, 2026, 12:24 AM CDT for Woodbury County, Iowa. It was in force for 51 min. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jun 1, 2026, 12:24 AM CDT (05:24 UTC)
Expired
Jun 1, 2026, 1:15 AM CDT
In force
51 min
Issued by
NWS Sioux Falls, SD
Area
Storm-based polygon
Hail
1.0 in
Wind
50.0 mph

County Woodbury County, IA

The radar

The Omaha radar (KOAX), 122 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 05:26 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.

The watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 31, 9:38 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC4 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Omaha, NE (KOAX), launched 00:00Z, 5.4 hours before the alert went out and 122 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 2026-06-01Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1417 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Omaha, NE at 00:00Z on 2026-06-01The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 47 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
1417 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-10 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1719 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
47 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
152 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
2.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What 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, 5 hours 29 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, 5 hours 29 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, 10 hours 51 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, 8:05 PM CDT, 4 hours 19 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
805 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0754 PM     Hail             2 WNW Davis             43.27N 97.04W
05/31/2026  E1.00 Inch       Turner             SD   Public

&&

TRM
Local storm report, May 31, 8:18 PM CDT, 4 hours 6 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
818 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0817 PM     Hail             Wakonda                 43.01N 97.11W
05/31/2026  E0.88 Inch       Clay               SD   Trained Spotter

&&

TRM
Local storm report, May 31, 8:23 PM CDT, 4 hours 1 minute before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
823 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0811 PM     Tornado          4 W Wall Lake           43.53N 97.03W
05/31/2026                   Minnehaha          SD   NWS Employee

            Radar confirmed tonado.

&&

TRM
Local storm report, May 31, 8:47 PM CDT, 3 hours 37 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
847 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0845 PM     Hail             Davis                   43.26N 97.00W
05/31/2026  E1.00 Inch       Turner             SD   Emergency Mngr

&&

TRM
Local storm report, May 31, 8:58 PM CDT, 3 hours 26 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
858 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0854 PM     Tornado          5 NE Centerville        43.17N 96.89W
05/31/2026                   Lincoln            SD   Storm Chaser

            Tornado observed from chaser live feed.

&&

TRM
Local storm report, May 31, 11:42 PM CDT, 42 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
1142 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1137 PM     Hail             3 N Sioux City          42.54N 96.40W
05/31/2026  E0.70 Inch       Woodbury           IA   Public

            Caller reported ongoing pea to dime sized
            hail. Location estimated by radar.

&&

AS

The office that day

Everything else NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 31, 7:06 PM CDTTornado WarningFSDMcCook, Minnehaha39 min
May 31, 7:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDMcCook, Minnehaha52 min
May 31, 7:23 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDLincoln, Turner52 min
May 31, 7:42 PM CDTTornado WarningFSDMcCook, Minnehaha23 min
May 31, 7:50 PM CDTTornado WarningFSDTurner40 min
May 31, 7:54 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDMinnehaha51 min
May 31, 8:03 PM CDTTornado WarningFSDMinnehaha42 min
May 31, 8:21 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDLincoln, Turner54 min
May 31, 8:29 PM CDTTornado WarningFSDLincoln, Turner46 min
May 31, 8:42 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDClay, Lincoln, Turner, Yankton63 min
May 31, 8:43 PM CDTTornado WarningFSDMinnehaha32 min
May 31, 8:57 PM CDTTornado Warning Tornado observedFSDLincoln, Turner35 min
May 31, 9:11 PM CDTTornado WarningFSDClay, Union49 min
May 31, 9:43 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDClay, Union47 min
May 31, 11:08 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDUnion52 min
May 31, 11:44 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningFSDCherokee, Plymouth, Woodbury46 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Iowa, 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.