Thunderstorms produced a tornado and damaging winds in Brule and Charles Mix Counties, and flash flooding in Kingsbury County in southeast South Dakota, during the afternoon and early evening of September 2nd.
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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.
The episode as NWS FSD wrote it up.
Thunderstorms produced a tornado and damaging winds in Brule and Charles Mix Counties, and flash flooding in Kingsbury County in southeast South Dakota, during the afternoon and early evening of September 2nd.
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 Sioux Falls, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 2, 2:35 PM CST, 16 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR SOUTHEAST SD/SOUTHWEST MN/NORTHWEST IA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 335 PM CDT WED SEP 2 2009 .DISCUSSION... UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE IS THE MAIN WEATHER STORY TONIGHT. SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN CLOSELY TIED TO THE CENTER OF LOW. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED OVERRUNNING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD DIE OFF LATER THIS AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING AS UPPER LOW BEGINS A SEWRD SHIFT. ACTIVITY SHOULD BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD INTO S CNTRL SD AS UPPER LOW SHIFTS OVER THIS AREA... WHICH BASED ON VIS SAT...APPEARS TO BE DESTABILIZING. CHANCES FOR SEVERE STORMS WILL BE CONFINED TO SFC BASED CONVECTION INTO S CNTRL THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING...WITH THE MAIN THREAT HAIL TO THE SIZE OF QUARTERS. MAINLY LOOKING AT BRIEF HEAVY RAIN AND SMALL HAIL. /LIEBL THE UPPER LOW WILL SLIDE SOUTH ON THURSDAY MORNING. ANY SCATTERED SHOWERS WILL BE NEAR THE MISSOURI RIVER BY MID MORNING AND SHOULD MOVE OUT OF THE AREA BY EARLY AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL BE LEFT BEHIND SO EXPECT A LOT OF LOW CLOUDS THROUGH THE AFTERNOON IN THE MISSOURI VALLEY EAST TOWARD SLB. SO KEPT TEMPERATURES NEAR 70 FOR HIGHS. FARTHER NORTH...IT SHOULD CLEAR FOR A BRIEF PERIOD EARLY IN THE DAY BUT WOULD EXPECT STRATOCU TO FORM WITHIN AN HOUR OR TWO OF CLEARING LEAVING SKIES MOSTLY CLOUDY DURING MUCH OF THE AFTERNOON. NONETHELESS WITH SOME SUN...HIGH SHOULD REACH THE 70S. ON THURSDAY NIGHT...SKIES SHOULD CLEAR FAIRLY RAPDILY EXCEPT NEAR THE MO RIVER WHERE CLOUDS MAY HANG THROUGH SUNSET. BECAUSE IT IS NOT EXPECTED TO MIX OUT DURING THE AFTERNOON...THERE WILL BE A LOT OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE OVERNIGHT. WITH LIGHT WINDS...IT SHOULD RADIATE AND EXPECT SOME VALLEY FOG WILL FORM AROUND SIOUX CITY...VERMILLION AND STORM LAKE. ANY FOG SHOULD DISSIPATE BY MID MORNING ON FRIDAY. THEN EXPECT ANOTHER DAY WHERE CU WILL FORM IN THE AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY IN THE MISSOURI RIVER VALLEY WITH COOL AIR ALOFT AND WILL KEEP IN THE LOWER 70S. TEMPS WILL BE WARMEST NORTH OF I90 WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S. ON FRIDAY NIGHT...WINDS WILL AGAIN DROP OFF...ESPECIALLY IN NW IOWA. WHILE THERE AGAIN COULD BE SOME LOCAL FOG IN NW IA DID NOT ADD TO GRIDS AT THIS TIME. IT SHOULD ALSO RADIATE WELL WITH LOWS IN THE UPPER 40S AND 50S. SATURDAY WILL SEE FEW STRATO CU AND A LITTLE WARMER TEMPERATURES WITH MORE SUNSHINE AS WINDS TURN MORE TO THE SOUTH. SO EXPECT HIGHS IN THE 80S WEST AND MID TO UPPER 70S EAST OF I29. IN THE EXTENDED...LATEST GUIDANCE IS MUCH SLOWER WITH THE FRONTAL PASSAGE FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK. ECMWF AND 06Z HAVE THE FRONT THROUGH LATE WEDNESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT BUT 00Z GFS ENSEMBLE CONSENSUS IS LATE TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY. HAVE GENERALLY FOLLOWED THIS THINKING FOR THE EXTENDED AND REMOVED THE CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION UNTIL LATE MONDAY NIGHT WEST OF THE JAMES RIVER AND ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE CWA. FOR SUNDAY...NOW EXPECTING DRY WEATHER. THE UPPER LOW IS FAIRLY CLOSE YET AND WITH COLD AIR ALOFT EXPECT A FAIRLY PROLIFIC CU FIELD TO DEVELOP IN THE AFTERNOON. COULD EVEN SEE AN ISOLATED SHOWER IN NW IA BUT GIVEN UNCERTAINTY ON THE UPPER LOW POSITION DID NOT INCLUDE AT THIS TIME. WITH THE RIDGE EXTENDING INTO THE AREA AND PRODUCING E TO SE FLOW...HAVE LOWERED TEMPS WITH EXPECTATION THAT MIXING WILL BE LIMITED AND COOL AIR WILL BE FILTERING INTO THE AREA FROM THE HIGH CENTER. FOLLOWED A SIMILAR IDEA ON MONDAY ALTHOUGH WITH A FEW LESS CLOUDS IN THE EAST AND MORE IN THE WEST AS UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE INCREASES. FOR MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...HAVE A GRADUAL INCREASE IN THE CHANCE OF PCPN. ALSO INCREASED CLOUDS...EVEN AHEAD OF THE FRONT AS STRATUS MAY EVENTUALLY COME INTO THE AREAS AS MOISTURE FROM THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY IS ADVECTED IN. WENT COOLER ON WEDNESDAY WITH EXPECTATION OF COLD AIR ADVECTION AND DECENT CLOUD COVER...ESPECIALLY ALONG AND EAST OF I29. /SCHUMACHER && .AVIATION... AN UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL PRODUCE WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER SE SD THIS EVENING. A FEW STRONGER STORMS ARE POSSIBLE TOWARD 9V9 AND ICR EARLY THIS EVENING. UPPER LOW TO SLOWLY SHIFT SE INTO NE NEBRASKA LATER TONIGHT. MAINLY MVFR TO VFR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...BUT COULD BE WIDESPREAD IFR LATE TONIGHT...MAINLY WEST OF INTERSTATE 29./LIEBL && .FSD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SD...NONE. MN...NONE. IA...NONE. NE...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 1138 AM CDT WED SEP 02 2009 SDZ038>040-050-052>071-MNZ071-072-080-081-089-090-097-098- IAZ001>003-012>014-020>022-031-032-NEZ013-014-031200- AURORA-BEADLE-BON HOMME-BROOKINGS-BRULE-BUENA VISTA IA- CHARLES MIX-CHEROKEE IA-CLAY-CLAY IA-COTTONWOOD MN-DAKOTA NE- DAVISON-DICKINSON IA-DIXON NE-DOUGLAS-GREGORY-HANSON-HUTCHINSON- IDA IA-JACKSON MN-JERAULD-KINGSBURY-LAKE-LINCOLN-LINCOLN MN- LYON IA-LYON MN-MCCOOK-MINER-MINNEHAHA-MOODY-MURRAY MN-NOBLES MN- OBRIEN IA-OSCEOLA IA-PIPESTONE MN-PLYMOUTH IA-ROCK MN-SANBORN- SIOUX IA-TURNER-UNION-WOODBURY IA-YANKTON- 1138 AM CDT WED SEP 02 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA... SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA...NORTHWEST IOWA...AND NORTHEAST NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS... ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD EAST ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD LATE THIS AFTERNOON OVER SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA...IN ASSOCIATION WITH AN UPPER LEVEL AREA OF LOW PRESSURE. THERE IS A SMALL CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS IN SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA TO BECOME SEVERE LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS EVENING. THE MAIN THREAT BEING HAIL TO THE SIZE OF A QUARTER. LATER IN THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL SPREAD ACROSS PORTIONS SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST IOWA. THESE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE...AND WILL DECREASE IN INTENSITY THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE POSSIBLE AFTER 3 PM IN SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA. && FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SIOUXFALLS. THIS INCLUDES THE GRAPHICAL HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK. 97
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 347 PM CDT WED SEP 2 2009 SDZ050-057-058-063-064-022230- GREGORY-BRULE-AURORA-CHARLES MIX-DOUGLAS- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...GREGORY...BURKE...CHAMBERLAIN... KIMBALL...PLANKINTON...WHITE LAKE...STICKNEY...WAGNER...PLATTE... LAKE ANDES...MARTY...ARMOUR...CORSICA...DELMONT 347 PM CDT WED SEP 2 2009 ...SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT... AT 340 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR SHOWED SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOPING ALONG THE MISSOURI RIVER. THESE STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING BRIEF FUNNEL CLOUDS IN THE INITIAL STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT. THE STRONGEST STORMS WERE LOCATED SOUTHWEST OF KIMBALL AND NORTHWEST OF PLATTE.
The Sioux Falls radar (KFSD), 186 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:50 UTC.
1 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A tornado produced a visible dust and debris cloud, but caused no reported damage except to a few trees.
Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including large limbs blown down. The winds also destroyed a gazebo with a decorative lighthouse, and moved a greenhouse several feet.
Heavy rainfall, measured at 5.13 inches, caused flash flooding of a garage, a kitchen, and outdoor low areas.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in South Dakota in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for South Dakota, 2009Warnings in South Dakota, September 2009
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: 195877, 195878, 195879.