South Dakota, 2012

Hail in South Dakota, July 31, 2012

July 31, 2012 · NWS ABR · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A couple isolated thunderstorms brought hail up to the size of ping pong balls to parts of north centrral South Dakota.

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
2

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 couple isolated thunderstorms brought hail up to the size of ping pong balls to parts of north centrral South Dakota.

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 31, 10:14 AM CST, 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 10:14 AM CST, 8 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 31, 2:53 AM CST, 7 hours 29 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
353 AM CDT TUE JUL 31 2012

MNZ039-046-SDZ003>011-015>023-033>037-045-048-051-010900-
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-
353 AM CDT TUE JUL 31 2012 /253 AM MDT TUE JUL 31 2012/

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

STORMS WILL PUSH IN LATE THIS AFTERNOON FOR NORTHWEST SOUTH
DAKOTA...AHEAD OF A WEAK FRONT. STORMS WILL CONTINUE EAST INTO THE
OVERNIGHT AND EARLY MORNING HOURS...MAINLY ACROSS THE NORTHERN
TIER OF THE STATE. ORGANIZED SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT
THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

SPOTTY THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE IS POSSIBLE THROUGH MID WEEK WITH
LIMITED RISK FOR SEVERE WEATHER. A MORE ORGANIZED WEATHER SYSTEM
WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION LATE THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY...AND
BRINGS WITH IT THE CHANCE FOR SEVERE WEATHER.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 31, 9:59 AM CST, 23 minutes before
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The radar

The Bismarck radar (KBIS), 139 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:23 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Walworth

When
July 31, 10:22 AM CST
Where
Walworth County, 0.84 mi NW of Mobridge
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
45.540, -100.440

Hail, Corson

When
July 31, 7:15 PM MST
Where
Corson County, 7.32 mi SSW of Keldron
Measured
1.5 in hail
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
45.830, -101.870

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 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, July 2012

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 403425, 403426.