Hail and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, July 29, 2003

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, July 29, 2003
Start: 2003-07-29T12:30
End: 2003-07-29T15:42
Location: South Dakota

July 29, 2003 · NWS ABR · 24 events in 8 counties and zones

17 hail, 7 thunderstorm wind, 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: 24

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 Jul 29, 8:45 AM CST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 29, 8:45 AM CST, 3 hours 45 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 29, 4:29 AM CST, 8 hours 1 minute before

MNZ039-046-SDZ003>011-015>023-033>037-045-048-051-301030-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
529 AM CDT TUE JUL 29 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF CENTRAL...
NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA...AS WELL AS
BIG STONE AND TRAVERSE COUNTIES IN MINNESOTA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A QUICK MOVING COLD FRONT WILL SLIDE EAST ACROSS THE AREA TODAY.
SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP ALONG AND AHEAD OF
THE FRONT AS IT MOVES THROUGH. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE THAT SOME OF
THE STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE...MAINLY EAST OF A LINE FROM ABERDEEN
TO PIERRE. AT THIS TIME IT APPEARS THAT THE MAIN THREAT WOULD BE
STRONG STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED LATER TODAY OR TONIGHT.

HINTZ

The radar

The Aberdeen radar (KABR), 179 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:27 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

17 hail, 7 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Hand

When: July 29, 12:30 PM CST
Where: Hand County, 7 mi SW of Miller
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 44.367, -100.083

Hail, Hand

When: July 29, 12:35 PM CST
Where: Hand County, 1 mi S of Miller
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.250, -100.367

Hail, Hand

When: July 29, 12:45 PM CST
Where: Hand County, 3 mi N of St Lawrence
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 44.983, -97.850

Thunderstorm Wind, Hughes

When: July 29, 1:35 PM CST
Where: Hughes County, 3 mi NW of Pierre
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 44.883, -98.100

Hail, Spink

When: July 29, 1:52 PM CST
Where: Spink County, Frankfort
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.117, -97.417

Hail, Hughes

When: July 29, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Hughes County, 12 mi E of Pierre
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 45.083, -97.467

Thunderstorm Wind, Hughes

When: July 29, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Hughes County, 12 mi E of Pierre
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 44.900, -98.817

High winds brought down several large tree branches.

Hail, Stanley

When: July 29, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Stanley County, 7 mi S of Ft Pierre
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 44.900, -98.817

Hail, Clark

When: July 29, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Clark County, 9 mi NW of Clark
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 44.950, -98.850

Hail, Spink

When: July 29, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Spink County, Doland
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 44.983, -97.867

Hail, Codington

When: July 29, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Codington County, 3 mi NE of Wallace
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 45.200, -97.017

Hail, Codington

When: July 29, 2:05 PM CST
Where: Codington County, Wallace
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 45.150, -96.917

Thunderstorm Wind, Spink

When: July 29, 2:10 PM CST
Where: Spink County, 8 mi W of Redfield
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 44.867, -98.300

Thunderstorm Wind, Faulk

When: July 29, 2:10 PM CST
Where: Faulk County, Rockham
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 45.200, -97.017

Sixty mph winds brought some large branches down.

Hail, Faulk

When: July 29, 2:10 PM CST
Where: Faulk County, Rockham
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 44.767, -97.500

Hail, Hand

When: July 29, 2:10 PM CST
Where: Hand County, 17 mi NE of Polo
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 44.950, -97.967

Hail, Clark

When: July 29, 2:20 PM CST
Where: Clark County, 3 mi NW of Raymond
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 44.567, -98.933

Thunderstorm Wind, Spink

When: July 29, 2:20 PM CST
Where: Spink County, Redfield
Measured: 92 kt (106 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 44.400, -100.383

Wind equipment by Redfield measured winds at 106 mph before the power went out.

Hail, Clark

When: July 29, 2:40 PM CST
Where: Clark County, 10 mi NW of Clark
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 44.867, -98.517

Thunderstorm Wind, Spink

When: July 29, 2:45 PM CST
Where: Spink County, 3 mi E of Redfield
Measured: 80 kt (92 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 44.367, -100.083

Winds of 70 to over 100 mph caused a lot of damage in and around Redfield east to Frankfort and south to Tulare. The winds and hail damaged many roofs, crops, outbuildings, downed power lines and poles, and also downed many branches and trees. In Redfield, a trailer home with two occupants, was rolled three to four times over 75 feet. The trailer home rolled over a pickup truck and damaged it. Much of the contents in the trailer home was damaged and the trailer home itself was a total loss. The people inside received minor injuries. A garage was also blown apart in Redfield with the car damaged inside. At the grain elevator in Redfield, several vehicle's windows were broke out by airborne sand and rocks. A street light was ripped from the concrete in Redfield. East of Redfield, a 70 foot silo of over 70 tons was crumbled to the ground and a large tractor shed was blown apart with damage to the contents.

Hail, Grant

When: July 29, 3:05 PM CST
Where: Grant County, 7 mi SW of Marvin
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 44.450, -99.083

Thunderstorm Wind, Grant

When: July 29, 3:05 PM CST
Where: Grant County, 7 mi SW of Marvin
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 44.867, -98.683

Hail, Codington

When: July 29, 3:05 PM CST
Where: Codington County, 3 mi N of South Shore
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 44.867, -98.450

Hail, Clark

When: July 29, 3:42 PM CST
Where: Clark County, Naples
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 44.500, -98.983

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in South Dakota in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in South Dakota, July 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5378644, 5378645, 5378646, 5378647, 5378648, 5378649, 5378650, 5378651, 5378652, 5378653, 5378654, 5378655, 5329892, 5378656, 5378657, 5378658, 5329890, 5329891, 5378659, 5329893, 5329888, 5378660, 5378661, 5329889.