South Dakota, 2009

Hail and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, July 7, 2009

July 7, 2009 · NWS ABR · 15 events in 5 counties and zones

A surface low pressure area in central South Dakota along with a warm front extending to the east brought severe thunderstorms to northeast South Dakota. Large hail up to the quarter size along with damaging winds to 60 mph occurred across parts of the 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
15

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.

A surface low pressure area in central South Dakota along with a warm front extending to the east brought severe thunderstorms to northeast South Dakota. Large hail up to the quarter size along with damaging winds to 60 mph occurred across parts of the area.

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 7, 2:50 AM CST, 6 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 7, 2:50 AM CST, 6 hours 2 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 7, 2:31 AM CST, 6 hours 21 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
331 AM CDT TUE JUL 7 2009

MNZ039-046-SDZ003>011-015>023-033>037-045-048-051-080845-
TRAVERSE-BIG STONE-CORSON-CAMPBELL-MCPHERSON-BROWN-MARSHALL-
ROBERTS-WALWORTH-EDMUNDS-DAY-DEWEY-POTTER-FAULK-SPINK-CLARK-
CODINGTON-GRANT-HAMLIN-DEUEL-STANLEY-SULLY-HUGHES-HYDE-HAND-JONES-
LYMAN-BUFFALO-
331 AM CDT TUE JUL 7 2009 /231 AM MDT TUE JUL 7 2009/

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL
MINNESOTA...CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA...NORTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA AND
NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

A FRONT SITUATED ACROSS THE REGION...ALONG WITH BOUNDARIES FROM
MORNING CONVECTION...WILL PROVIDE THE FOCUS FOR AFTERNOON
THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. THE ENVIRONMENT THESE STORMS WILL FORM
UNDER IS SUPPORTIVE FOR SUPERCELL DEVELOPMENT WITH THE MAIN
RISK BEING FOR HAIL AND HIGH WINDS...AND POSSIBLY AN ISOLATED
TORNADO.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS POSSIBLE AGAIN WEDNESDAY NIGHT...WITH
MODELS INDICATING A FAST MOVING THUNDERSTORM COMPLEX EFFECTING THE
NORTHERN TIER OF THE STATE. THE MAIN THREAT FROM THIS COMPLEX IS
FOR HIGH WINDS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

CONNELLY

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jul 7, 5:24 AM CST, 3 hours 28 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Jul 7, 8:32 AM CST, 20 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
932 AM CDT TUE JUL 7 2009

SDZ003>005-009-015-071600-
CAMPBELL-CORSON-DEWEY-MCPHERSON-WALWORTH-
932 AM CDT TUE JUL 7 2009

...A SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR CAMPBELL...
EASTERN CORSON...NORTHEASTERN DEWEY...NORTHWESTERN MCPHERSON AND
NORTHWESTERN WALWORTH COUNTIES UNTIL 1100 AM CDT/1000 AM MDT/...

AT 828 AM MDT...SATELLITE IMAGERY AND NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT THUNDERSTORMS WERE RAPIDLY DEVELOPING
NEAR INDIAN MEMORIAL REC AREA...OR NEAR MOBRIDGE...MOVING NORTHEAST
AT 30 MPH.

A FEW LOCATIONS IN THE ADVISORY INCLUDE GLENHAM...KENEL...POLLOCK...
MOUND CITY...HERREID...ARTAS...EUREKA...GREENWAY AND LONG LAKE.

A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE ALSO NOTED ON RADAR
DEVELOPING NEAR ARTAS...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 30 MPH.

PENNY TO NICKEL SIZE HAIL...AND WINDS AROUND 40 TO 50 MPH ARE
EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

FREQUENT LIGHTNING ACCOMPANIES THESE STORMS. MOVE INDOORS
IMMEDIATELY.

&&

DORN

The radar

The Bismarck radar (KBIS), 130 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:49 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Campbell

When
July 7, 8:52 AM CST
Where
Campbell County, 10.8 mi WSW of Mound City
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
45.650, -100.270

Hail, Campbell

When
July 7, 8:53 AM CST
Where
Campbell County, 10.51 mi WSW of Mound City
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
45.660, -100.270

Thunderstorm Wind, Codington

When
July 7, 1:50 PM CST
Where
Codington County, 5.05 mi NNE of Wallace
Measured
61 kt (70 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
45.150, -97.440

Seventy mph winds uprooted several trees along with damaging some shingles.

Thunderstorm Wind, Codington

When
July 7, 1:50 PM CST
Where
Codington County, 2.29 mi NNE of Wallace
Measured
61 kt (70 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
45.110, -97.450

Several trees were uprooted by seventy mph winds.

Funnel Cloud, Grant

When
July 7, 1:50 PM CST to 1:55 PM CST
Where
Grant County, 1.69 mi SE of Hiland
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
45.160, -97.180

A funnel cloud was observed extending from a wall cloud.

Hail, Clark

When
July 7, 1:53 PM CST to 2:07 PM CST
Where
Clark County, 8.07 mi SW of Clark
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
44.800, -97.840

Hail, Clark

When
July 7, 1:55 PM CST to 2:10 PM CST
Where
Clark County, 6.55 mi NW of Willow Lake
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
44.690, -97.710

Hail, Clark

When
July 7, 2:12 PM CST
Where
Clark County, 0.85 mi SW of Naples
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.760, -97.510

Thunderstorm Wind, Codington

When
July 7, 2:12 PM CST
Where
Codington County, 0.49 mi W of Henry
Measured
52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
44.880, -97.460

Sixty mph winds downed several branches in and around Henry.

Hail, Clark

When
July 7, 2:15 PM CST to 2:20 PM CST
Where
Clark County, 8.48 mi NE of Carpenter
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
44.730, -97.800

Hail, Clark

When
July 7, 2:15 PM CST
Where
Clark County, 9.05 mi NNE of Carpenter
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
44.740, -97.800

Thunderstorm Wind, Clark

When
July 7, 2:15 PM CST
Where
Clark County, 0.98 mi W of Elrod
Measured
52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.880, -97.590

Sixty mph winds were estimated by a trained spotter.

Hail, Clark

When
July 7, 2:17 PM CST
Where
Clark County, 0.69 mi N of Willow Lake
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.630, -97.620

Thunderstorm Wind, Hamlin

When
July 7, 3:00 PM CST
Where
Hamlin County, 5 mi E of Lake Norden
Measured
52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
44.580, -97.098

Winds were estimated by the public to be around 60 mph.

Hail, Clark

When
July 7, 3:57 PM CST
Where
Clark County, 2.13 mi NNW of Willow Lake
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
44.650, -97.630

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.
Funnel Cloud
A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in South Dakota in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, July 2009

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: 189852, 189853, 189935, 189936, 189952, 189855, 189857, 189858, 189868, 189861, 189864, 189872, 189860, 189930, 189863.