Tornadoes and Hail in South Dakota, July 3, 1971

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in South Dakota, July 3, 1971
Start: 1971-07-03T18:00
End: 1971-07-03T20:59
Location: South Dakota

July 3, 1971 · 7 events in 4 counties and zones

5 tornado, 1 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: $75,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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

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

Tornado, Hand

When: July 3, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Hand County
Rating: F2
Path length: 20.1 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Coordinates: 44.230, -98.980

Tornado, Hand

When: July 3, 6:10 PM CST
Where: Hand County
Rating: F2
Path length: 2.3 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 44.220, -99.000

Tornado, Hand

When: July 3, 6:15 PM CST
Where: Hand County
Rating: F3
Path width: 87 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 44.270, -99.230

Hail, Hand

When: July 3, 6:15 PM CST
Where: Hand County
Measured: 4 in hail
Coordinates: 44.500, -99.000

Tornado, Beadle

When: July 3, 6:22 PM CST
Where: Beadle County
Rating: F1
Path width: 33 yd
Coordinates: 44.370, -98.470

Tornado, Buffalo

When: July 3, 6:50 PM CST
Where: Buffalo County
Rating: F0
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 44.170, -98.980

Thunderstorm Wind, Codington

When: July 3, 8:59 PM CST
Where: Codington County
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Coordinates: 44.880, -97.180

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

Every storm in South Dakota in 1971 Every state in 1971 This day in weather history The tornado archive for South Dakota, 1971

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: 10109894, 10109895, 10109896, 10109897, 10109898, 10109899, 10109900.