High Wind, Rapid City
- When
- March 24, 11:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
- Where
- Rapid City forecast zone
- Measured
- 57 kt (66 mph)
- Coordinates
- 44.004, -102.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind in South Dakota, March 24, 1997
A strong pressure gradient over western South Dakota resulted in very strong winds. Rapid City regional airport broke a record, previously set in 1996, for the highest wind gust recorded there.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
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 UNR wrote it up.
A strong pressure gradient over western South Dakota resulted in very strong winds. Rapid City regional airport broke a record, previously set in 1996, for the highest wind gust recorded there.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Oglala Lakota
- When
- March 24, 11:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
- Where
- Oglala Lakota forecast zone
- Measured
- 54 kt (62 mph)
- Coordinates
- 43.336, -102.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Northern Meade Co Plains
- When
- March 24, 11:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
- Where
- Northern Meade Co Plains forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Coordinates
- 44.567, -102.717 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Pennington Co Plains
- When
- March 24, 11:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
- Where
- Pennington Co Plains forecast zone
- Measured
- 55 kt (63 mph)
- Coordinates
- 44.004, -102.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Hail in Kansas, March 24, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, March 24 to 25, 1997
- Flooding in Iowa, March 24 to 31, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Oklahoma, March 24, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Oklahoma, March 24, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Texas, March 24, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, March 24 to 25, 1997
- Winter Storm in New Mexico, March 24 to 25, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Kansas, March 24, 1997
- High Surf in Hawaii, March 24 to 25, 1997
- Winter Storm in Colorado, March 24 to 25, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, March 24, 1997
More
Every storm in South Dakota in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, March 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5594035, 5594036, 5594037, 5594038.