South Dakota, 1970

Tornadoes and Hail in South Dakota, June 15, 1970

June 15, 1970 · 15 events in 10 counties and zones

12 tornado, 2 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$275,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
15

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

12 tornado, 2 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Lake

When
June 15, 6:10 PM CST
Where
Lake County
Rating
F1
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
44.030, -97.220

Hail, Lake

When
June 15, 6:15 PM CST
Where
Lake County
Measured
3 in hail
Coordinates
44.080, -97.180

Tornado, Lake

When
June 15, 6:30 PM CST
Where
Lake County
Rating
F1
Path width
67 yd
Property damage
$25,000
Coordinates
44.080, -97.170

Tornado, Lake

When
June 15, 6:45 PM CST
Where
Lake County
Rating
F3
Path width
200 yd
Property damage
$250,000
Coordinates
44.150, -96.950

Thunderstorm Wind, Beadle

When
June 15, 8:07 PM CST
Where
Beadle County
Measured
53 kt (61 mph)
Coordinates
44.380, -98.180

Tornado, Charles Mix

When
June 15, 8:30 PM CST
Where
Charles Mix County
Rating
F1
Path length
0.5 mi
Path width
50 yd
Coordinates
43.130, -98.280

Tornado, McCook

When
June 15, 9:00 PM CST
Where
McCook County
Rating
F1
Path length
2 mi
Path width
133 yd
Coordinates
43.550, -97.500

Tornado, Minnehaha

When
June 15, 9:30 PM CST
Where
Minnehaha County
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
43.600, -96.600

Tornado, Bon Homme

When
June 15, 9:30 PM CST
Where
Bon Homme County
Rating
F1
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
43.150, -97.720

Tornado, Lake

When
June 15, 9:40 PM CST
Where
Lake County
Rating
F0
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
44.100, -97.100

Tornado, Minnehaha

When
June 15, 9:49 PM CST
Where
Minnehaha County
Rating
F0
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
43.500, -96.800

Tornado, Turner

When
June 15, 9:55 PM CST
Where
Turner County
Rating
F0
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
43.100, -97.000

Tornado, Clay

When
June 15, 10:09 PM CST
Where
Clay County
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
43.000, -97.100

Hail,

When
June 15, 10:35 PM CST
Where
County
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
42.580, -96.580

Tornado, Brown

When
June 15, 11:15 PM CST
Where
Brown County
Path width
33 yd
Coordinates
45.800, -98.100

What these are

Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in South Dakota in 1970Every state in 1970This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for South Dakota, 1970

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10116632, 10116633, 10116634, 10116635, 10116636, 10116637, 10116638, 10116639, 10116640, 10116641, 10116642, 10116643, 10116644, 10116645, 10116646.