South Dakota, 2002

High Wind in South Dakota, August 16 to 17, 2002

August 16 to 17, 2002 · NWS ABR · 12 events in 12 counties and zones

High winds of 35 to 45 mph gusting to over 60 mph from the late evening into the early morning hours caused some spotty tree and building damage across central and north central South Dakota. A roof was blown off a trailer home in Akaska.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 12 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.

What happened

The episode as NWS ABR wrote it up.

High winds of 35 to 45 mph gusting to over 60 mph from the late evening into the early morning hours caused some spotty tree and building damage across central and north central South Dakota. A roof was blown off a trailer home in Akaska.

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 Aberdeen, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 16, 8:02 PM CST, 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 16, 8:02 PM CST, 58 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR CENTRAL/N-EAST SD AND W-CENTRAL MN...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
902 PM CDT FRI AUG 16 2002

A VERITABLE CORNICOPIA OF WATCH BOXES LITTER CWA THIS EVENING. UPDATED
THE ZONES TO REMOVE CONVECTIVE WATCH WORDING IN THE NORTHWEST CWA.
REMAINING WATCHES CONTINUE THROUGH MIDNIGHT AND 2 AM CDT
RESPECTIVELY. UPSTREAM SURFACE OBSERVATIONS CONTINUE TO SHOW
IMPRESSIVE WIND DATA BEHIND APPROACHING COLD FRONT. FOR NOW WILL
CONTINUE TO CARRY HIGH WIND WARNING IN THE WEST AND WIND ADVISORY IN
THE EAST.

.ABR...HIGH WIND WARNING TONIGHT FOR ADJACENT MO RIVER COUNTIES.
       WIND ADVISORY OVERNIGHT FOR EASTERN CWA.

DORN

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 16, 7:52 PM CST, 1 hour 8 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN, SD
852 PM CDT FRI AUG 16 2002

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

0750 PM    MCLAUGHLIN                SD   .75 INCH HAIL
08/16/02   CORSON                         REPORTED BY SPOTTER

0815 PM    2 E POLLOCK               SD   .75 INCH HAIL
08/16/02   CAMPBELL                       REPORTED BY GENERAL
                                          PUBLIC

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

12 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Stanley

When
August 16, 9:00 PM CST to August 17, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Stanley forecast zone
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
44.412, -100.736 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Corson

When
August 16, 10:00 PM CST to August 17, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Corson forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.709, -101.197 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Dewey

When
August 16, 10:00 PM CST to August 17, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Dewey forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
45.157, -100.872 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Jones

When
August 16, 10:00 PM CST to August 17, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Jones forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.961, -100.690 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Campbell

When
August 16, 10:30 PM CST to August 17, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Campbell forecast zone
Measured
46 kt (53 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.771, -100.052 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Potter

When
August 16, 11:00 PM CST to August 17, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Potter forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.065, -99.957 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Walworth

When
August 16, 11:00 PM CST to August 17, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Walworth forecast zone
Measured
46 kt (53 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
45.430, -100.032 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Lyman

When
August 17, 12:00 AM CST to 3:00 AM CST
Where
Lyman forecast zone
Measured
49 kt (56 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.896, -99.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Buffalo

When
August 17, 1:00 AM CST to 3:00 AM CST
Where
Buffalo forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.076, -99.205 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Hughes

When
August 17, 1:00 AM CST to 3:00 AM CST
Where
Hughes forecast zone
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
44.389, -99.996 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Hyde

When
August 17, 1:00 AM CST to 3:00 AM CST
Where
Hyde forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.547, -99.487 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Sully

When
August 17, 1:00 AM CST to 3:00 AM CST
Where
Sully forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.716, -100.132 (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 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, August 2002

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: 5315950, 5315897, 5315898, 5315901, 5315896, 5315903, 5315951, 5315902, 5315895, 5315899, 5315900, 5315952.