South Dakota, 1998

High Wind in South Dakota, April 12, 1998

April 12, 1998 · NWS ABR · 8 events in 8 counties and zones

A very intense area of low pressure moving along the South Dakota and North Dakota border brought high winds to most of northeast South Dakota from the morning to the afternoon of the 12th. South winds from 30 to over 50 mph damaged numerous farm buildings, tore some shingles off houses, brought large tree branches down along with some trees.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 8 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
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  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
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.

What happened

The episode as NWS ABR wrote it up.

A very intense area of low pressure moving along the South Dakota and North Dakota border brought high winds to most of northeast South Dakota from the morning to the afternoon of the 12th. South winds from 30 to over 50 mph damaged numerous farm buildings, tore some shingles off houses, brought large tree branches down along with some trees. In rural South Shore, a door was blown in on a machine shed. With all of the high water around northeast South Dakota, the high winds generated some damaging waves. Water washed over many roads causing a lot of erosion. West of Webster, on Highway 12, the shoreline and rip-rapping work done along Rush Lake suffered heavy damage as high waves washed over the highway and ate away at the shoreline. Also, waves affected travel on Highway 212 5 1/2 miles east of Clark as tree branches were washed onto the road. Some wind gusts were, 52 mph at Sisseton and 51 mph at Watertown.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Clark

When
April 12, 7:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Clark forecast zone
Measured
45 kt (52 mph)
Coordinates
44.858, -97.729 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Day

When
April 12, 7:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Day forecast zone
Measured
45 kt (52 mph)
Coordinates
45.367, -97.607 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Marshall

When
April 12, 7:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Marshall forecast zone
Measured
45 kt (52 mph)
Coordinates
45.759, -97.598 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Hamlin

When
April 12, 7:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Hamlin forecast zone
Measured
45 kt (52 mph)
Coordinates
44.674, -97.188 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Codington

When
April 12, 7:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Codington forecast zone
Measured
45 kt (52 mph)
Coordinates
44.978, -97.189 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Deuel

When
April 12, 7:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Deuel forecast zone
Measured
45 kt (52 mph)
Coordinates
44.760, -96.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Roberts

When
April 12, 7:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Roberts forecast zone
Measured
45 kt (52 mph)
Coordinates
45.630, -96.946 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Grant

When
April 12, 7:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Grant forecast zone
Measured
45 kt (52 mph)
Coordinates
45.172, -96.768 (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

More

Every storm in South Dakota in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, April 1998

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: 5637091, 5637092, 5637093, 5637094, 5637095, 5637096, 5637097, 5637098.