Tornado in South Dakota, July 7, 2001

Name: Tornado in South Dakota, July 7, 2001
Start: 2001-07-07T17:43
End: 2001-07-07T17:43
Location: South Dakota

July 7, 2001 · NWS UNR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A tornado was reported by an experienced and well known spotter. A photo of the tornado was taken before rain and terrain obscured viewing of the tornado.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 tornado was reported by an experienced and well known spotter. A photo of the tornado was taken before rain and terrain obscured viewing of the tornado. No known damage was reported or observed by spotters.

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 Jul 7, 3:40 PM MST, 2 hours 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 7, 3:40 PM MST, 2 hours 3 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR WESTERN SD AND NORTHEASTERN WY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD
440 PM MDT SAT JUL 7 2001

WL UPDATE ZONES TO PUT SVR WATCH INTO SW SD ZONES.

.UNR...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH UNTIL 1000 PM MDT FOR SOUTHWESTERN
       SOUTH DAKOTA.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 7, 1:51 PM MST, 3 hours 52 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD
251 PM MDT SAT JUL 07 2001

TIME(MDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0225 PM    JOHNSON SIDING            SD   .75 INCH HAIL
07/07/01   PENNINGTON                     REPORTED BY OFF-DUTY
                                          NWS EMPLOYEE.

Local storm report, Jul 7, 2:12 PM MST, 3 hours 31 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD
312 PM MDT SAT JUL 07 2001

TIME(MDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0305 PM    KEYSTONE                  SD   1.75 INCH HAIL
07/07/01   PENNINGTON                     REPORTED BY HAM RADIO
                                          OPERATOR.

Local storm report, Jul 7, 3:46 PM MST, 1 hour 57 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD
446 PM MDT SAT JUL 07 2001

TIME(MDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....A

0630 PM    10 SW MOORCROFT           WY   .75 INCH HAIL
07/06/01   CROOK                          REPORTED BY PUBLIC.

The radar

The Rapid City radar (KUDX), 90 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:43 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Custer

When: July 7, 5:43 PM MST
Where: Custer County, 12 mi W of Custer
Rating: F0
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 25 yd
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.767, -103.833

What these are

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.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in South Dakota in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history The tornado archive for South Dakota, 2001 Warnings in South Dakota, July 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5260031.