High Wind, Perkins
- When
- December 18, 3:44 AM MST to 11:00 AM MST
- Where
- Perkins forecast zone
- Measured
- 51 kt (59 mph)
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 45.491, -102.476 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind in South Dakota, December 18, 1999
A strong cold front moved through the region. There were 11 hours where sustained winds at Buffalo, SD were above 50 mph.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 13 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
- 13
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 cold front moved through the region. There were 11 hours where sustained winds at Buffalo, SD were above 50 mph. The rest of the region had several hours of sustained winds over 40 mph with gusts to near 60 mph.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
13 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Meade Co. Plains
- When
- December 18, 6:36 AM MST to 11:00 AM MST
- Where
- Meade Co. Plains forecast zone
- Measured
- 54 kt (62 mph)
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 44.567, -102.717 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Butte
- When
- December 18, 7:50 AM MST to 1:00 PM MST
- Where
- Butte forecast zone
- Measured
- 35 kt (40 mph)
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 44.906, -103.508 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Custer Plains
- When
- December 18, 8:00 AM MST to 1:00 PM MST
- Where
- Custer Plains forecast zone
- Measured
- 35 kt (40 mph)
- Reported by
- UNKNOWN
- Coordinates
- 43.678, -103.451 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Jackson
- When
- December 18, 8:00 AM MST to 1:00 PM MST
- Where
- Jackson forecast zone
- Measured
- 37 kt (43 mph)
- Reported by
- UNKNOWN
- Coordinates
- 43.694, -101.628 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Mellette
- When
- December 18, 8:00 AM MST to 1:00 PM MST
- Where
- Mellette forecast zone
- Measured
- 36 kt (41 mph)
- Reported by
- UNKNOWN
- Coordinates
- 43.581, -100.760 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Central Foot Hills
- When
- December 18, 8:20 AM MST
- Where
- Central Foot Hills forecast zone
- Measured
- 41 kt (47 mph)
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
- Coordinates
- 44.004, -102.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Harding
- When
- December 18, 8:36 AM MST to 1:00 PM MST
- Where
- Harding forecast zone
- Measured
- 59 kt (68 mph)
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 45.580, -103.496 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Pennington Plains
- When
- December 18, 8:56 AM MST to 11:00 AM MST
- Where
- Pennington Plains forecast zone
- Measured
- 37 kt (43 mph)
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 44.004, -102.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Northern Foot Hills
- When
- December 18, 9:56 AM MST to 1:16 PM MST
- Where
- Northern Foot Hills forecast zone
- Measured
- 44 kt (51 mph)
- Reported by
- BROADCAST MEDIA
- Coordinates
- 44.359, -103.792 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Ziebach
- When
- December 18, 10:30 AM MST to 4:00 PM MST
- Where
- Ziebach forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 44.980, -101.666 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Tripp
- When
- December 18, 1:42 PM CST
- Where
- Tripp forecast zone
- Measured
- 35 kt (40 mph)
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 43.346, -99.884 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Haakon
- When
- December 18, 12:53 PM MST
- Where
- Haakon forecast zone
- Measured
- 38 kt (44 mph)
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
- Coordinates
- 44.294, -101.540 (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
- Lightning Strike in Louisiana, December 18, 1999
- High Wind in Montana, December 18 to 19, 1999
- Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, December 18 to 20, 1999
- High Wind in Montana, December 18 to 19, 1999
- Dense Fog in California, December 18, 1999
- High Wind in Colorado, December 18, 1999
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, December 18 to 19, 1999
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, December 18 to 19, 1999
- High Wind in Montana, December 18, 1999
- High Wind in Washington, December 18, 1999
- High Wind in Montana, December 18, 1999
- High Wind in New Mexico, December 18, 1999
More
Every storm in South Dakota in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, December 1999
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: 5724651, 5724649, 5724644, 5724646, 5724654, 5724655, 5724645, 5724648, 5724650, 5724653, 5724652, 5724656, 5724647.