Alert archive / South Dakota / Tornado Warnings in 2026
Tornado Warning 19, NWS Sioux Falls, SD
NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued this tornado warning at May 31, 2026, 7:06 PM CDT for McCook County, Minnehaha County, South Dakota. It was in force for 39 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, 7:06 PM CDT (00:06 UTC)
- Expired
- May 31, 2026, 7:45 PM CDT
- In force
- 39 min
- Issued by
- NWS Sioux Falls, SD
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
- Tornado
- Radar indicated
- Hail
- 1.0 in
Counties McCook County, SD, Minnehaha County, SD
The radar
The Sioux Falls radar (KFSD), 35 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
Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this tornado 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
Aberdeen, SD (KABR), launched 00:00Z, 0.1 hours before the alert went out and 175 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.
130
WFUS53 KFSD 010006
TORFSD
SDC087-099-010045-
/O.NEW.KFSD.TO.W.0019.260601T0006Z-260601T0045Z/
BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Tornado Warning
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
706 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026
The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls has issued a
* Tornado Warning for...
Southwestern Minnehaha County in southeastern South Dakota...
Southeastern McCook County in southeastern South Dakota...
* Until 745 PM CDT.
* At 706 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado
was located over Lake Vermillion State Recreation Area, moving east
at 15 mph.
HAZARD...Tornado and quarter size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.
IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without
shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed.
Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree
damage is likely.
* This dangerous storm will be near...
Lake Vermillion State Recreation Area and Humboldt around 710 PM
CDT.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest
floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a
mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter
and protect yourself from flying debris.
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 4355 9725 4362 9728 4370 9703 4357 9699
TIME...MOT...LOC 0006Z 260DEG 12KT 4360 9721
TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...1.00 IN
$$
SG1 follow-up statement
538
WWUS53 KFSD 010026
SVSFSD
Severe Weather Statement
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
726 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026
SDC087-099-010045-
/O.CON.KFSD.TO.W.0019.000000T0000Z-260601T0045Z/
Minnehaha SD-McCook SD-
726 PM CDT Sun May 31 2026
...A TORNADO WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 745 PM CDT FOR
SOUTHWESTERN MINNEHAHA AND SOUTHEASTERN MCCOOK COUNTIES...
At 726 PM CDT, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado
was located over Lake Vermillion State Recreation Area, moving east
at 15 mph.
HAZARD...Tornado and quarter size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated rotation.
IMPACT...Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without
shelter. Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage
to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is
likely.
Locations impacted include...
Lake Vermillion State Recreation Area and Humboldt.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
TAKE COVER NOW! Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest
floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a
mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter
and protect yourself from flying debris.
If a tornado or other severe weather is spotted, report it to the
National Weather Service or your local nearest law enforcement agency
who will send your report. This act may save lives of others in the
path of dangerous weather.
&&
LAT...LON 4355 9722 4363 9726 4370 9703 4357 9699
TIME...MOT...LOC 0026Z 252DEG 12KT 4362 9719
TORNADO...RADAR INDICATED
MAX HAIL SIZE...1.00 IN
$$
SGWhat forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado 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 tornado warning went out at May 31, 6:55 PM CDT, 11 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, 11 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 33 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 9 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 51 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 21 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, 57 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, 53 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, 7:08 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FSD | McCook, Minnehaha | 52 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
Tornado Warnings in South Dakota, 2026Every tornado warning in 2026Tornadoes 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.