Hail, Sully
- When
- July 16, 6:13 PM CST
- Where
- Sully County, 7 mi SW of Onida
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 44.630, -100.170
Tornadoes and Hail in South Dakota, July 16, 1997
13 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 2 tornado, 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 24
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.
The radar
The Aberdeen radar (KABR), 166 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:13 UTC.
Event by event
13 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Hughes
- When
- July 16, 6:20 PM CST
- Where
- Hughes County, 6 mi N of Pierre
- Measured
- 2.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 44.450, -100.330
Tornado, Hughes
- When
- July 16, 6:25 PM CST to 6:26 PM CST
- Where
- Hughes County, 10 mi N of Pierre
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 0.5 mi
- Path width
- 30 yd
- Coordinates
- 44.520, -100.330
The tornado, spotted by a pilot, struck an airport and ripped the roof off of an air carrier , smashing five airplanes. Path length and width were estimated.
Hail, Hughes
- When
- July 16, 6:44 PM CST
- Where
- Hughes County, 5 mi N of Pierre
- Measured
- 2.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 44.430, -100.330
Hail, Hughes
- When
- July 16, 6:44 PM CST
- Where
- Hughes County, Pierre
- Measured
- 1.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 44.370, -100.330
Thunderstorm Wind, Hughes
- When
- July 16, 6:45 PM CST
- Where
- Hughes County, 8 mi NE of Pierre
- Measured
- 61 kt (70 mph)
- Coordinates
- 44.450, -100.220
Tornado, Hughes
- When
- July 16, 6:45 PM CST
- Where
- Hughes County, Pierre to 8 mi ENE of Pierre
- Measured
- 1
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 2 mi
- Path width
- 75 yd
- Coordinates
- 44.450, -100.220
The tornado swept up dust and debris as it tracked steadily southeast across 2 miles of open country. Path and length were estimated.
Thunderstorm Wind, Sully
- When
- July 16, 7:00 PM CST
- Where
- Sully County, 20 mi SE of Onida
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 44.500, -99.780
Thunderstorm winds tore some shingles off a house and barn and also knocked down some very large branches.
Thunderstorm Wind, Hughes
- When
- July 16, 7:07 PM CST
- Where
- Hughes County, Pierre
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Coordinates
- 44.370, -100.330
Hail, Potter
- When
- July 16, 7:45 PM CST
- Where
- Potter County, 2 mi E of Lebanon
- Measured
- 3 in hail
- Coordinates
- 45.070, -99.750
Thunderstorm Wind, Faulk
- When
- July 16, 8:30 PM CST
- Where
- Faulk County, 4 mi SE of Faulkton
- Measured
- 51 kt (59 mph)
- Coordinates
- 45.000, -99.080
Hail, Day
- When
- July 16, 8:35 PM CST
- Where
- Day County, Bristol
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 45.350, -97.770
Hail, Day
- When
- July 16, 9:00 PM CST
- Where
- Day County, Bristol
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 45.350, -97.770
Thunderstorm Wind, Faulk
- When
- July 16, 9:30 PM CST
- Where
- Faulk County, 4 mi SE of Faulkton
- Measured
- 70 kt (81 mph)
- Coordinates
- 45.000, -99.080
Hail, Day
- When
- July 16, 9:35 PM CST
- Where
- Day County, 10 mi S of Bristol
- Measured
- 0.75 in hail
- Coordinates
- 45.200, -97.770
Thunderstorm Wind, Day
- When
- July 16, 9:35 PM CST
- Where
- Day County, 10 mi S of Bristol
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 45.200, -97.770
Thunderstorm winds blew some large limbs down.
Thunderstorm Wind, Clark
- When
- July 16, 9:55 PM CST
- Where
- Clark County, 1 mi N of Crocker
- Measured
- 70 kt (81 mph)
- Coordinates
- 45.120, -97.770
Damaging thunderstorm winds and hail destroyed a wheat crop and knocked down an apple tree along with many large branches.
Hail, Clark
- When
- July 16, 9:55 PM CST
- Where
- Clark County, 1 mi N of Crocker
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Coordinates
- 45.120, -97.770
The hail destroyed a wheat crop.
Thunderstorm Wind, Day
- When
- July 16, 10:20 PM CST
- Where
- Day County, 6 mi S of Webster
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 45.250, -97.530
Thunderstorm winds knocked down some poles and some powerlines.
Thunderstorm Wind, Day
- When
- July 16, 10:35 PM CST
- Where
- Day County, Waubay
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 45.330, -97.320
Damaging thunderstorm winds blew some buildings down and some trees were uprooted.
Thunderstorm Wind, Day
- When
- July 16, 10:35 PM CST
- Where
- Day County, 5 mi SE of Webster
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Coordinates
- 45.280, -97.470
Thunderstorm Wind, Codington
- When
- July 16, 10:46 PM CST
- Where
- Codington County, 4 mi N of Florence
- Measured
- 61 kt (70 mph)
- Coordinates
- 45.100, -97.320
Thunderstorm Wind, Codington
- When
- July 16, 11:05 PM CST
- Where
- Codington County, South Shore
- Measured
- 70 kt (81 mph)
- Coordinates
- 45.100, -96.920
Damaging thunderstorm winds downed two cottonwood trees and destroyed a fishing dock.
Thunderstorm Wind, Grant
- When
- July 16, 11:06 PM CST
- Where
- Grant County, Twin Brooks
- Measured
- 57 kt (66 mph)
- Coordinates
- 45.200, -96.800
What these are
- 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.
- 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
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Wisconsin, July 16, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Virginia, July 16, 1997
- Heat in Wisconsin, July 16, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, July 16 to 17, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 16 to 17, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, July 16 to 17, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, July 16, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 16, 1997
- Hail and Lightning Strike in New Jersey, July 16, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Colorado, July 16, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Virginia, July 16, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, July 16, 1997
More
Every storm in South Dakota in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for South Dakota, 1997Warnings in South Dakota, July 1997
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5612124, 5612126, 5612012, 5612013, 5612125, 5612014, 5612015, 5612016, 5612128, 5612017, 5612018, 5612019, 5612020, 5612021, 5612022, 5612023, 5612024, 5612025, 5612026, 5612027, 5612127, 5612028, 5612029, 5612030.