South Dakota, 2003

Hail in South Dakota, August 20, 2003

August 20, 2003 · NWS ABR · 4 events in 2 counties and zones

4 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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 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 20, 1:40 PM CST, 2 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 20, 1:40 PM CST, 2 hours 5 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
240 PM CDT WED AUG 20 2003

.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT
WEAK COLD FRONT ENTERING WESTERN ZONES AS UPPER LOW EXITS NORTHEAST
ZONES.  EXPECT FRONT TO BE MOSTLY DRY THOUGH A STRAY... LESS THAN 10
POP... SHOWER IS POSSIBLE.  FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH CWA OVERNIGHT.
DIRTY UPPER RIDGE REBOUNDS WITH ASSOCIATED SURFACE HIGH IN THE COLD
POOL BEHIND FRONT.  MODELS SHOW FAIRLY CLOSE AGREEMENT WITH
PATTERN.  WEAK UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVES ROTATE OVER AND FLATTEN THE
RIDGE AT INTERVALS THROUGH THE PERIOD.  EXPECT SOME LOW QPF AND LOW
POP SHOWERS TO DEVELOP OVER THE WESTERN ZONES LATE SATURDAY.  COOLER
AIR MASS WILL ALLOW TEMPERATURES WILL APPROACH NORMAL WITH WARMER
POCKETS POSSIBLE IN WESTERN AREAS.  MCNULTY

.LONG TERM...SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY
LATEST CYCLE OF EXTENDED MODELS TO CHOOSE FROM SUPPORT A SIMILAR
PATTERN EVOLUTION. ON DAY 4...AN UPPER LEVEL LOW...NOW OVER THE
EASTERN PAC...WILL PROPAGATE THROUGH NORTHERN TIER STATES AND DRAG A
COLD FRONT THROUGH THIS AREA. THE COLD FRONT SHOULD HELP TO
REINFORCE COOLER...MORE NORMAL TEMPS FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR AS WELL
AS DRIER AIR. SOMEWHAT MORE ZONAL FLOW DOES TAKE SHAPE FOR BEGINNING
OF NEXT WEEK...BUT FOR HOW LONG IS THE QUESTION. TYPICALLY IN
FASTER...MORE ZONAL SCENARIOS...S/WS AND FROPAS ARE A BIT QUICKER
AND DRIER...SO HAVE REMOVED THE CHANCES PREVIOUSLY INSERTED FOR
MONDAY AND TUESDAY FOR NOW. THIS IN CONJUNCTION WITH HPC AND
SURROUNDING WEATHER OFFICES. STEERED MAX T VALUE ON DAY 4 A BIT
ABOVE ALL FORMS OF GUIDANCE AS FROPA IS EXPECTED LATER IN THAT
PERIOD. TEMPS FOR DAYS 5 THROUGH 7 WERE KEPT CLOSER TO MEX ENSEMBLES
MOS AND HPC GUIDANCE.  DORN

.ABR...NONE

The radar

The Aberdeen radar (KABR), 48 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:44 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, McPherson

When
August 20, 3:45 PM CST
Where
McPherson County, 13 mi E of Hillsview
Measured
1.25 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.033, -98.300

Hail, Spink

When
August 20, 4:40 PM CST
Where
Spink County, 5 mi N of Ashton
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
45.667, -99.300

Hail, Spink

When
August 20, 4:55 PM CST
Where
Spink County, 14 mi NW of Doland
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
45.000, -98.100

Hail, Spink

When
August 20, 4:59 PM CST
Where
Spink County, 3 mi S of Turton
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
45.067, -98.500

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

More

Every storm in South Dakota in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, August 2003

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: 5375241, 5374519, 5374521, 5374520.