South Dakota, 2003

Hail in South Dakota, June 12, 2003

June 12, 2003 · NWS UNR · 6 events in 2 counties and zones

A severe thunderstorm developed over southeastern Lawrence County and slowly moved southeast into central Pennington County. Hail to the size of quarters fell from Nemo to the Rockerville area.

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
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 severe thunderstorm developed over southeastern Lawrence County and slowly moved southeast into central Pennington County. Hail to the size of quarters fell from Nemo to the Rockerville area. Hail fell for about 15 minutes in Rockerville and was a foot deep.

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 Jun 12, 9:40 AM MST, 1 hour 49 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 12, 9:40 AM MST, 1 hour 49 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 12, 5:00 AM MST, 6 hours 29 minutes before
SDZ001-002-012>014-024>032-041>044-046-047-049-072>074-WYZ054>058-
071-131400-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD
600 AM MDT THU JUN 12 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA AND
NORTHEASTERN WYOMING.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THIS MORNING FROM
NORTHEASTERN WYOMING INTO SOUTHWESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA. AS THE
ATMOSPHERE BECOMES MORE UNSTABLE THIS AFTERNOON...SOME THUNDERSTORMS
WILL DEVELOP FROM NORTHEASTERN WYOMING THROUGH SOUTHWESTERN SOUTH
DAKOTA...GENERALLY SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 90. SOME OF THE STORMS MAY
BECOME SEVERE...WITH THE PRIMARY THREAT BEING HAIL LARGER THAN 3/4
INCH AND WIND GUSTS GREATER THAN 60 MPH.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH
THE WEEKEND AND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK...ESPECIALLY OVER THE HIGHER
TERRAIN OF NORTHEASTERN WYOMING AND FAR WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ASSISTANCE MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS
NORTHEASTERN WYOMING...THE BLACK HILLS...AND SOUTHWESTERN SOUTH
DAKOTA.

JOHNSON

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, Lawrence

When
June 12, 11:29 AM MST
Where
Lawrence County, 2 mi NE of Nemo
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD
Coordinates
44.217, -103.467

Hail, Pennington

When
June 12, 12:30 PM MST
Where
Pennington County, 15 mi SW of Rapid City
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
43.933, -103.433

Hail, Pennington

When
June 12, 12:45 PM MST
Where
Pennington County, 3 mi S of Rockerville
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
43.900, -103.350

Hail, Pennington

When
June 12, 12:50 PM MST
Where
Pennington County, 6 mi S of Rapid City
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
44.000, -103.217

Hail, Pennington

When
June 12, 12:55 PM MST to 1:10 PM MST
Where
Pennington County, Rockerville
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
43.950, -103.350

Hail, Pennington

When
June 12, 1:06 PM MST
Where
Pennington County, 6 mi S of Rapid City
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
44.000, -103.217

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, June 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: 5364825, 5364826, 5364827, 5364828, 5364829, 5364830.