High Wind, Pennington Plains
- When
- May 3, 3:16 PM MST
- Where
- Pennington Plains forecast zone
- Measured
- 47 kt (54 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, May 3, 2002
A strong surface pressure gradient developed behind a cold front over the northwestern South Dakota plains during the afternoon hours. Winds were sustained 40 to 50 mph across the region with periodic gusts to near 60 mph.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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
- 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.
A strong surface pressure gradient developed behind a cold front over the northwestern South Dakota plains during the afternoon hours. Winds were sustained 40 to 50 mph across the region with periodic gusts to near 60 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 May 3, 2:00 PM MST, 1 hour 16 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 3, 2:00 PM MST, 1 hour 16 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR WESTERN SD AND NORTHEASTERN WY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD
300 PM MDT FRI MAY 3 2002
MAIN FORECAST CONCERNS FOR SHORT TERM CONTINUE TO REVOLVE AROUND
APPROACHING COLD FRONT. AT 21Z...FRONT NEAR 2WX...STRETCHING
SOUTHWESTWARD TO SHR. WINDS GUSTING TO AROUND 40 MPH AT BHK...MLS
AND GDV. TIGHTENING PRES GRADIENT AND GOOD PRES RISES BEHIND FRONT.
TIMING OF FRONT STILL LOOKS TO BE ON TARGET...MOVING THRU NW SD AND
NE WY BTWN 21Z AND 00Z...WEST CENTRAL SD BTWN 00Z AND 03Z...AND SE
CWA BETWEEN 03Z AND 06Z. 18Z MESOETA AND RUC STILL SHOW 40 TO 50 KT
WINDS AT 850 MB THIS EVE ACROSS W SD. SURF OBS SHOW STRONG TEMP
GRADIENT BEHIND THE FRONT IN MT. SCT SHOWERS AND STORMS THIS EVE
WILL FURTHER HELP TO MIX DOWN WINDS ACROSS THE AREA. STILL LOOKING
FOR 2 TO 3 HOURS OF VERY STRONG WINDS BEHIND THE FRONT. BEST CHANCES
FOR SHOWERS LOOKS TO BE ACROSS N AND W CWA THIS EVE.
OTHERWISE FOR THE UPCOMING WEEKEND...HIGH PRES QUICKLY BUILDS IN
LATE TONIGHT AND MOVES EAST OF THE AREA TOMORROW. COOLER
TOMORROW...BUT SEASONABLE TEMPS EXPECTED. WARMER AIR WILL RETURN SAT
NIGHT AND CONTINUE FOR SUN AND MON WITH HIGHS BACK IN THE 70S FOR
MOST LOCATIONS. WEAK SHRTWVS IN ZONAL FLOW ON SUN AND MON WILL ALSO
BRING CHANCES FOR MAINLY AFT AND EVE SHOWERS AND STORMS.
ANOTHER UPPER TROF WITH SURF COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THRU MON NIGHT OR
EARLY TUE...BRINGING ANOTHER SHOT OF COLD AIR AND A CHANCE FOR PCPN
ON TUE AND INTO WED. COULD BE COLD ENOUGH FOR SOME SNOW AGAIN...
ESPECIALLY FOR HIGHER TERRAIN OF W SD AND NE WY. FORECAST GENERALLY
ON TRACK WITH THIS TREND AND ONLY MADE MINOR ADJUSTMENTS TO THE
EXTENDED. WARMER WX EXPECTED AGAIN BY LATE IN THE WEEK.
.UNR...HIGH WIND WARNING THRU EARLY EVE NORTHWEST SD...
...HIGH WIND WARNING THIS EVE FOR WEST CENTRAL SD PLAINS...
STThe radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
6 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Harding
- When
- May 3, 3:56 PM MST
- Where
- Harding forecast zone
- Measured
- 37 kt (43 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 45.580, -103.496 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Meade Co. Plains
- When
- May 3, 5:11 PM MST
- Where
- Meade Co. Plains forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 44.567, -102.717 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Custer Plains
- When
- May 3, 5:20 PM MST
- Where
- Custer Plains forecast zone
- Measured
- 37 kt (43 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 43.678, -103.451 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Haakon
- When
- May 3, 7:23 PM MST
- Where
- Haakon forecast zone
- Measured
- 51 kt (59 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 44.294, -101.540 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
High Wind, Ziebach
- When
- May 3, 7:37 PM MST
- Where
- Ziebach forecast zone
- Measured
- 51 kt (59 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 44.980, -101.666 (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
- Flash Flood and Hail in Texas, May 3, 2002
- High Wind in Massachusetts, May 3, 2002
- High Wind in New York, May 3, 2002
- Flash Flood in Alabama, May 3 to 4, 2002
- High Wind in Vermont, May 3, 2002
- Strong Wind in Maine, May 3, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 3 to 4, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, May 3, 2002
- Strong Wind in New Hampshire, May 3, 2002
- Lightning Strike in Alabama, May 3, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, May 3, 2002
- Hail in Texas, May 3, 2002
More
Every storm in South Dakota in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, May 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: 5291566, 5291562, 5291563, 5291565, 5291567, 5291564.