Lightning started a fire which destroyed a house near Inwood in the early morning of March 20th.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
Lightning started a fire which destroyed a house near Inwood in the early morning of March 20th.
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 Mar 20, 2:40 AM CST, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR SOUTHEAST SD/SOUTHWEST MN/NORTHWEST IA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 340 AM CDT SUN MAR 20 2011 .DISCUSSION... ISOLATED MARGINALLY SEVERE CONVECTION FIRING UP ALONG OUR SOUTHWEST BORDER THIS MORNING ALONG AN AREA OF STRONG MID LEVEL FRONTOGENETIC FORCING ACROSS THE MISSOURI RIVER VALLEY. ADDITIONAL CONVECTION TRACKING ALONG OUR WESTERN BORDER TO THE NORTH OF I90 IS RAPIDLY DIMINISHING AS IT ENCOUNTERS MUCH DRIER AIR AT THE LOWER LEVELS. AS THE MORNING PROGRESSES...EXPECT LOWER LEVEL MOISTURE TO INCREASE FROM THE SOUTH...AND ADDITIONAL SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO PUSH INTO THE CENTRAL FORECAST AREA THROUGH DAYBREAK AND FILL IN ACROSS THE EASTERN HALF THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE MORNING. COLD FRONT SWEEPS THROUGH FROM WEST TO EAST BEGINNING LATE MORNING THROUGH THE EARLY AFTERNOON WHICH SHIFTS THE WINDS TO NORTHWESTERLY IN ITS WAKE. EXPECT WIND SPEEDS TO PICK BACK UP TO THE 15 TO 30 MPH RANGE WITH HIGHER GUSTS THROUGH LATE EVENING. CLEARING SKIES THIS AFTERNOON WILL ALLOW TEMPERATURES TO WARM BACK INTO THE 50S AND LOWER 60S BY EARLY AFTERNOON. FLOW TURNS LIGHT TONIGHT WHICH WILL ALLOW LOWS TO FALL BACK INTO THE LOWER TO MIDDLE 30S. TRANSITION DAY ON MONDAY WITH MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES AND EASTERLY FLOW INCREASING AHEAD OF WAVE EMERGING FROM THE CENTRAL ROCKIES MONDAY AFTERNOON. BY MONDAY NIGHT...STRONG LOWER LEVEL JET KICKS IN ACROSS NEBRASKA WHILE LOWER LEVEL FRONTOGENESIS TRACKS NORTHWARD INTO OUR SOUTHERN BORDER MONDAY EVENING. WITH MILD TEMPERATURES HOLDING MONDAY NIGHT AND LIFTED INDICES APPROACHING -6 AND CAPE INCREASING...EXPECT SHOWERS AND ISOLATED/SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS INCREASING IN LIKELIHOOD OVERNIGHT. CONVECTIVE INSTABILITY HANGS ON THROUGH TUESDAY...CULMINATING WITH A QUASISTATIONARY FRONT SAGGING THROUGH THE AREA LATE TUESDAY. COLDER AIR WRAPPING IN BEHIND THIS WAVE WILL ALLOW RAIN TO EVENTUALLY MIX WITH...OR SWITCH TO SNOWFALL TUESDAY NIGHT. EXACT TIMING OF THIS CHANGE OVER IS STILL A BIT IFFY...HOWEVER MODELS SEEM TO BE TRENDING TOWARDS DELAYING THE NEAR/SUB FREEZING TEMPERATURES UNTIL LATER TUESDAY NIGHT. WEDNESDAY SHOULD BE A NON-DIURNAL DAY WITH NEAR STEADY TEMPERATURES IN THE UPPER 20S TO LOWER 40S AND BREEZY NORTHERLY WINDS THROUGH THE DAY. LIGHT SNOW...PRIMARILY ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF...WILL DIMINISH THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. GIVEN THAT THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED PRIOR TO THE ARRIVAL OF THE COLDER AIR...SNOWFALL AMOUNTS FOR THIS STORM - AT THIS POINT - APPEAR TO BE RATHER LIGHT. BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES STICK AROUND WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY WITH THE BROAD UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AND SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE LOCKING THE COLDER TEMPERATURE ACROSS THE REGION. && .AVIATION... MVFR CEILINGS VARIABLE TO CEILINGS BELOW 1K FEET WITH THE IFR CONDITIONS MAINLY EASTERN HALF OF FORECAST AREA THIS MORNING. AREAS VSBYS 3-5SM IN LIGHT FOG. BAND OF SHRA/TSRA WILL MOVE EAST OVER AREA THROUGH 18Z WITH LOCAL AND BRIEF IFR VISIBILITIES. STEADY IMPROVEMENT TO VFR FROM THE WEST EXPECTED 18Z TO 21/00Z WITH VFR EXPECTED AFTER 21/00Z. / WILLIAMS && .FSD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SD...NONE. MN...NONE. IA...NONE. NE...NONE.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 523 AM CDT SUN MAR 20 2011 SDZ038>040-050-052>071-MNZ071-072-080-081-089-090-097-098- IAZ001>003-012>014-020>022-031-032-NEZ013-014-211200- 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- 523 AM CDT SUN MAR 20 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA... SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA...NORTHWEST IOWA...AND NORTHEAST NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH THIS MORNING...MAINLY EAST OF I-90. THESE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE. FLOODING... FLOODING WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE FOR PARTS OF THE JAMES RIVER...VERMILLION RIVER...BIG SIOUX RIVER...LITTLE SIOUX RIVER...ROCK RIVER...REDWOOD RIVER...AND THE DES MOINES RIVER THROUGH AT LEAST MONDAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS NORTHWEST IOWA MONDAY AFTERNOON THEN INCREASE ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY. SOME SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE MONDAY EVENING IN NORTHWEST IOWA AND EXTREME SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA TO THE SOUTH OF A CANTON TO YANKTON LINE. COLDER AIR ARRIVES EARLY WEDNESDAY WHICH WILL ALLOW RAIN TO CHANGE OVER TO...OR MIX WITH LIGHT SNOW ON WENDESDAY. ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BE LIGHT TO THE NORTH OF I 90 WITH LITTLE TO NO ACCUMULATION TO THE SOUTH. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT. SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE POSSIBLE AFTER SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY AFTER && FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SIOUXFALLS. THIS INCLUDES THE GRAPHICAL HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
215 AM CDT SUN MAR 20 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0209 AM HAIL FAIRFAX 43.03N 98.89W
03/20/2011 E1.00 INCH GREGORY SD CO-OP OBSERVER
QUARTER SIZE HAIL WITH LIGHT ACCUMULATION. WINDS STRONG
BUT NOT DAMAGING.
&&
WILLIAMSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
249 AM CDT SUN MAR 20 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0244 AM HAIL S PICKSTOWN 43.06N 98.53W
03/20/2011 E0.25 INCH CHARLES MIX SD TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
WILLIAMSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
304 AM CDT SUN MAR 20 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0243 AM HAIL SW PICKSTOWN 43.06N 98.53W
03/20/2011 E0.75 INCH CHARLES MIX SD TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
WILLIAMSThe Sioux Falls radar (KFSD), 38 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:58 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning started a fire on the lower level of a house which spread and destroyed the house and most of its contents.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Iowa in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Iowa, March 2011
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: 294618.