Tornado and Hail in South Dakota, July 5, 1994

Name: Tornado and Hail in South Dakota, July 5, 1994
Start: 1994-07-05T00:25
End: 1994-07-05T13:45
Location: South Dakota

July 5, 1994 · 5 events in 4 counties and zones

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

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 3
Property damage: $110,000
Crop damage: $55,000
Events: 5

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, 1 tornado, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Day

When: July 5, 12:25 AM CDT to 1:00 AM CDT
Where: Day County, Waubay
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 45.367, -97.607 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Winds blew down some power lines and tree limbs.

Tornado, Union

When: July 5, 12:35 AM CDT to 12:42 AM CDT
Where: Union County, Big Springs
Rating: F0
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 42.833, -96.656 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The tornado destroyed a mobile home and damaged some trees and vehicles.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lincoln

When: July 5, 1:00 AM CDT
Where: Lincoln County to Canton
Property damage: $5,000
Coordinates: 43.279, -96.722 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Winds blew down several trees and broke branches off of many other trees.

Thunderstorm Wind, Union

When: July 5, 1:06 AM CDT
Where: Union County, Beresford
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 42.833, -96.656 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Winds overturned a trailer and damaged trees.

Hail, Grant

When: July 5, 1:30 PM CDT to 1:45 PM CDT
Where: Grant County, Marvin to to Milbank
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Crop damage: $50,000
Coordinates: 45.172, -96.768 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Hail damaged soybean, corn, and wheat crops.

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.
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.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in South Dakota in 1994 Every state in 1994 This day in weather history The tornado archive for South Dakota, 1994 Warnings in South Dakota, July 1994

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: 10346360, 10349120, 10346292, 10349121, 10346493.