South Dakota, 1997

Hail and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, June 19 to 20, 1997

June 19 to 20, 1997 · NWS ABR · 17 events in 6 counties and zones

Several supercell thunderstorms moved southeast along a strong warm front across far southern Stanley, Jones, far southern Hughes, Lyman, and Buffalo counties through the early morning hours of the 20th producing, large hail and damaging winds. Hail up to the size of baseballs and winds gusting to 80mph damaged and destroyed thousands of acres of crops, broke windows in homes, buildings,…

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
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
17

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS ABR wrote it up.

Several supercell thunderstorms moved southeast along a strong warm front across far southern Stanley, Jones, far southern Hughes, Lyman, and Buffalo counties through the early morning hours of the 20th producing, large hail and damaging winds. Hail up to the size of baseballs and winds gusting to 80mph damaged and destroyed thousands of acres of crops, broke windows in homes, buildings, vehicles, damaged roofs and chipped paint off walls, and downed many trees. The most extensive crop, building, and tree damage was to farms and ranches around the areas of Draper, Vivian, Presho, and Kennebec where there was a 20 mile long and a 4 mile wide path of destruction. Also, the large hail killed many ducks and pheasants and the strong winds damaged or destroyed many grains bins and some buildings.

The radar

The Aberdeen radar (KABR), 184 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:48 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 hail, 8 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Lyman

When
June 19, 9:48 PM CST
Where
Lyman County, 15 mi NE of Kennebec
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
44.050, -99.650

Hail, Buffalo

When
June 19, 10:25 PM CST
Where
Buffalo County, 11 mi NE of Ft Thompson
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
44.170, -99.280

Hail, Hand

When
June 19, 10:44 PM CST
Where
Hand County, 20 mi S of Miller
Measured
0.75 in hail
Coordinates
44.230, -98.980

Thunderstorm Wind, Stanley

When
June 20, 1:00 AM CST
Where
Stanley County, Wendte
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Coordinates
44.250, -100.670

Hail, Jones

When
June 20, 1:05 AM CST
Where
Jones County, 15 mi N of Draper
Measured
2.75 in hail
Coordinates
44.130, -100.530

Thunderstorm Wind, Jones

When
June 20, 1:05 AM CST
Where
Jones County, 15 mi N of Draper
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Coordinates
44.130, -100.530

Thunderstorm Wind, Lyman

When
June 20, 1:13 AM CST
Where
Lyman County, 17 mi N of Vivian
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Coordinates
44.170, -100.280

Thunderstorm Wind, Hughes

When
June 20, 1:40 AM CST
Where
Hughes County, 27 mi SE of Pierre
Measured
70 kt (81 mph)
Coordinates
44.080, -99.950

Hail, Jones

When
June 20, 1:42 AM CST
Where
Jones County, 5 mi S of Capa
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
44.050, -100.980

Thunderstorm Wind, Buffalo

When
June 20, 1:55 AM CST
Where
Buffalo County, 7 mi NW of Ft Thompson
Measured
57 kt (66 mph)
Coordinates
44.120, -99.530

Hail, Jones

When
June 20, 1:59 AM CST
Where
Jones County, 6 mi N of Murdo
Measured
1.75 in hail
Coordinates
43.970, -100.720

Thunderstorm Wind, Hughes

When
June 20, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Hughes County, 35 mi SE of Pierre
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Coordinates
44.000, -99.830

Hail, Lyman

When
June 20, 2:25 AM CST
Where
Lyman County, Vivian
Measured
2.75 in hail
Coordinates
43.920, -100.280

Thunderstorm Wind, Lyman

When
June 20, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Lyman County, 6 mi S of Kennebec
Measured
57 kt (66 mph)
Coordinates
43.820, -99.870

Hail, Lyman

When
June 20, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Lyman County, 10 mi SE of Kennebec
Measured
2.75 in hail
Coordinates
43.800, -99.720

Thunderstorm Wind, Lyman

When
June 20, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Lyman County, 10 mi SE of Kennebec
Measured
70 kt (81 mph)
Coordinates
43.800, -99.720

Hail, Jones

When
June 20, 3:09 AM CST
Where
Jones County, 1 mi N of Draper
Measured
2.75 in hail
Coordinates
43.930, -100.530

What these are

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 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, June 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5608494, 5608402, 5608403, 5608404, 5608405, 5608495, 5608407, 5608406, 5608485, 5608486, 5608489, 5608487, 5608488, 5608490, 5608492, 5608493, 5608491.