Hail in South Dakota, May 9, 2001

Name: Hail in South Dakota, May 9, 2001
Start: 2001-05-09T15:50
End: 2001-05-09T16:45
Location: South Dakota

May 9, 2001 · NWS UNR · 6 events in 2 counties and zones

An isolated supercell thunderstorm developed and moved across southern Custer County. As it strengthened, this storm began to move to the right of the mean low level wind.

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: 6

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.

An isolated supercell thunderstorm developed and moved across southern Custer County. As it strengthened, this storm began to move to the right of the mean low level wind. The storm began to move southeast and it crossed into northeastern Fall River County, where it weakened.

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 May 9, 1:50 PM MST, 2 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 9, 1:50 PM MST, 2 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR WESTERN SD AND NORTHEASTERN WY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD
250 PM MDT WED MAY 9 2001

MDLS IN FAIR AGREEMENT TDY BUT DIFFER ON TIMING OF WAVES IN THE FAST
ZONAL FLOW. 18Z RUC WAS CLOSER TO AVN THAN ETA WITH VORT MVG INTO
PAC NW AND THE ETA ALSO LKS A LTL COOL WITH TEMPS...SO WL FOLLOW AVN
FOR FCST. TNGT A WEAK COLD FNT MOVES THRU SRN COUNTIES ALONG WITH A
WEAK VORT. DEW POINTS STILL IN THE MID TO UPR 40S THERE AND THINK A
FEW SHWRS AND TSMS POSSIBLE THIS EVE. A SECOND WAVE WL MOV THRU THE
NORTH AFTER MIDNIGHT. MOISTURE WL INCRS AS WL. SHLD BE ENOUGH TO GET
A FEW SHOWERS TO DVLP HERE AS WL.

TMRW THE WAVE MVG INTO PAC NW WL MV INTO NE WY AND NW SD. THIS WAVE
IS MUCH MORE IMPRESSIVE THAN THE ONES TNGT. AMPLE MOISTURE WL BE IN
PLACE AS WINDS WL BE FM THE E-NE HELPING TO ADVECT SOME OF THE MID
40 TO NEAR 50 DEW POINTS INTO AREA. SHLD STILL GET SOME GD HEATING
TO DESTABILIZE ATMOSPHERE AND AGREE WITH SPC ON SLT RSK...THINK
EXPANDING IT A LTL MORE E MIGHT BE NECESSARY. WAVE WL CONTINUE TO
MOV THRU CWA TMRW EVE AND WL KEEP CHC POPS N AND E...ISOLD S. WL BE
IN BETWEEN A LO TO THE S AND HI TO THE N...SO EXPECT LT WINDS AND
TEMPS TO FALL INTO THE 40S WITH 30S IN THE HILLS.

FRI AND FRI NIGHT HI PRESSURE BUILDS INTO REGION WITH DRY CONDS
EXPECTED. SOUTHERLY FLO WL HELP TO BRING BACK WARMER TEMPS FOR
WEEKEND.

IN THE EXTENDED...RIDGE CONTS TO REBUILD SAT WITH A WAVE BREAKING IT
DOWN AND BRINGING A CHC FOR TSMS SUN. FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK...RDG
BUILDS UP AGAIN...BUT FURTHER W AND WL NOT GET THE REAL WARM
TEMPERATURES INTO THE AREA...BUT IT WL BE NEAR NORMAL WITH DRY CONDS.

.UNR...NONE>.

JMG

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Custer

When: May 9, 3:50 PM MST to 4:00 PM MST
Where: Custer County, Pringle
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 43.600, -103.600

Hail, Custer

When: May 9, 4:00 PM MST to 4:10 PM MST
Where: Custer County, 5 mi N of Pringle
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.667, -103.600

Hail, Custer

When: May 9, 4:05 PM MST to 4:15 PM MST
Where: Custer County, Wind Cave
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.550, -103.483

Hail, Custer

When: May 9, 4:10 PM MST to 4:20 PM MST
Where: Custer County, 6 mi E of Wind Cave
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.550, -103.367

Hail, Fall River

When: May 9, 4:30 PM MST to 4:40 PM MST
Where: Fall River County, 1 mi NE of Oral
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 43.417, -103.250

Hail, Custer

When: May 9, 4:35 PM MST to 4:45 PM MST
Where: Custer County, Buffalo Gap
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 43.500, -103.317

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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 Warnings in South Dakota, May 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: 5246922, 5246923, 5246924, 5246925, 5247023, 5247022.