High Wind, Pennington Plains
- When
- December 26, 10:56 AM MST to 12:54 PM MST
- Where
- Pennington Plains forecast zone
- Measured
- 40 kt (46 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 44.004, -102.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind in South Dakota, December 26, 2001
A tight surface pressure gradient developed behind a cold front. Sustained winds reached 40 mph with gusts to 58 mph.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
- 2
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 tight surface pressure gradient developed behind a cold front. Sustained winds reached 40 mph with gusts to 58 mph.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Rapid City, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 26, 10:00 AM MST, 56 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 26, 10:00 AM MST, 56 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR WESTERN SD AND NORTHEASTERN WY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD 1000 AM MST WED DEC 26 2001 STRONG S/W MVG INTO ND ATTM. EXPECT WINDS TO INCRS THRU SD ZNS BY EARLY AFTN...ALTHOUGH NOT REAL CONFIDENT OF HI WIND WARNING CRITERIA BEING MET BASED ON NEW 12Z DATA. H90 GEOSTROPHIC WINDS ONLY 45 KTS THIS AFTN AND H85 WINDS AROUND 40 KTS...AND DIE OFF A BIT BY 00Z. SINCE WARNING IS OUT...THE POSSIBLITY OF A FEW 40 KT SUSTAINED WIND SPEEDS EXIST. WL UPDATE ZNS TO LWR WINDS DOWN ABOUT 5 MPH THRU SD CWA. HAVE ALSO TWEAKED TEMPS IN A COUPLE OF PLACES. .UNR...HIGH WIND WARNING PORTIONS OF NW SD THIS AFTN THROUGH TONIGHT. WIND ADVISORY THIS AFTN THROUGH TONIGHT REMAINDER OF WESTERN SD AND SOUTH CENTRAL SD. JMG
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Meade Co. Plains
- When
- December 26, 12:55 PM MST
- Where
- Meade Co. Plains forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 44.567, -102.717 (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 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, December 2001
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: 5275799, 5275798.