South Dakota, 1998

Tornado and Flood in South Dakota, June 17 to 18, 1998

June 17 to 18, 1998 · NWS ABR · 12 events in 6 counties and zones

8 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 tornado, 1 flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
12

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), 208 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:12 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

8 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 tornado, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Lyman

When
June 17, 8:15 PM CST
Where
Lyman County, Kennebec
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
43.900, -99.870

Thunderstorm Wind, Hyde

When
June 17, 8:43 PM CST
Where
Hyde County, 6 mi E of Highmore
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
44.520, -99.320

Thunderstorm Wind, Hand

When
June 17, 8:46 PM CST
Where
Hand County, 4 mi W of Ree Hgts
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
44.520, -99.280

Thunderstorm Wind, Hand

When
June 17, 9:15 PM CST
Where
Hand County, 1 mi N of Miller
Measured
70 kt (81 mph)
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
44.530, -98.980

Winds gusting to 80 mph at a farm north of Miller caused a barn to collapse, blew apart a granary, tore the shingles off one side of chicken coop, moved it off of its foundation, and blew the windows out of the top. The high winds also downed a dozen or so big tree limbs.

Tornado, Hand

When
June 17, 9:30 PM CST to 9:32 PM CST
Where
Hand County, 9 mi NE of Polo
Rating
F0
Path length
0.2 mi
Path width
10 yd
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.880, -98.970

A small tornado touched down briefly northeast of Polo damaging a tree. Path length and width were estimated.

Thunderstorm Wind, Hand

When
June 17, 9:31 PM CST
Where
Hand County, 8 mi NE of Polo
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.870, -98.980

Winds gusting to around 70 mph brought many large tree branches down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Faulk

When
June 17, 9:50 PM CST
Where
Faulk County, Rockham
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
44.900, -98.820

Winds gusting to 70 mph ripped off the garage doors at a farmhouse near Rockham and also ripped off a barn door.

Thunderstorm Wind, Faulk

When
June 17, 9:53 PM CST
Where
Faulk County, 13 mi W of Faulkton
Measured
70 kt (81 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.030, -99.400

Hail, Faulk

When
June 17, 10:19 PM CST
Where
Faulk County, 5 mi NE of Cresbard
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.220, -98.900

Thunderstorm Wind, Edmunds

When
June 17, 10:35 PM CST
Where
Edmunds County, 5 mi S of Mina
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
45.370, -98.770

Winds gusting to 60mph brought down many large tree branches.

Thunderstorm Wind, Brown

When
June 17, 10:50 PM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where
Brown County, Aberdeen
Measured
61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
45.470, -98.480

Several trees were downed in Aberdeen along with a lot of branches. As a result, four streets were blocked for a time and three cars were damaged. Also, a tree fell on a house causing some damage.

Flood, Faulk

When
June 17, 11:00 PM CST to June 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Faulk forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
45.071, -99.145 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rain of 3 to 4 inches fell during the late evening and early morning hours across part of eastern Faulk county in the Faulkton, Miranda, Orient, and Cresbard area. Several roads were flooded with some being closed.

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.
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.
Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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 historyThe tornado archive for South Dakota, 1998Warnings in South Dakota, June 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5653813, 5653814, 5653815, 5653816, 5653916, 5653917, 5653811, 5653810, 5653918, 5653919, 5653812, 5653920.