Tornadoes and Hail in South Dakota, May 5, 1993

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in South Dakota, May 5, 1993
Start: 1993-05-05T00:00
End: 1993-05-05T21:00
Location: South Dakota

May 5, 1993 · 8 events in 5 counties and zones

3 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 2 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $106,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 8

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

3 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Haakon

When: May 5, 12:00 AM MST
Where: Haakon County
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 44.294, -101.540 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong thunderstorm winds destroyed a shed in the Philip/Cottonwood area. Heavy rains of three inches or more north of Philip caused dams to run over and a few dams in the Milesville area to be lost. The rains also caused some damage to roads in the area.

Hail, Fall River

When: May 5, 4:12 PM MST
Where: Fall River County to Edgemont
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 43.239, -103.528 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Fall River

When: May 5, 4:40 PM MST
Where: Fall River County, Hot Springs
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Coordinates: 43.239, -103.528 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail, Fall River

When: May 5, 4:45 PM MST
Where: Fall River County, Oelrichs
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 43.239, -103.528 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tornado, Custer

When: May 5, 6:50 PM MST
Where: Custer County, Fairburn
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 15 yd
Property damage: $500
Coordinates: 43.680, -103.220

A tractor-trailer was blown over near the junction of Highway 79 and Fairburn Road.

Thunderstorm Wind, Pennington

When: May 5, 8:00 PM MST
Where: Pennington County, Scenic
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 44.004, -102.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm winds blew off portions of a school roof resulting in extensive structural and water damage.

Tornado, Pennington

When: May 5, 8:10 PM MST
Where: Pennington County to Rapid City
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 15 yd
Coordinates: 44.170, -103.100

A tornado touched down briefly one mile north of Flags of Fun amusement park.

Thunderstorm Wind, Oglala Lakota

When: May 5, 9:00 PM MST
Where: Oglala Lakota County, Kyle
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 43.336, -102.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High winds from a severe thunderstorm blew a mobile home over on a road and also severely damaged a house. The roof of the house blew off and brought down a power line. About 40 houses had no electrical service for nearly two hours.

What these are

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.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in South Dakota in 1993 Every state in 1993 This day in weather history The tornado archive for South Dakota, 1993 Warnings in South Dakota, May 1993

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: 10346525, 10346440, 10346441, 10346442, 10346324, 10346547, 10346548, 10346099.