Hail in South Dakota, July 24, 2015

Name: Hail in South Dakota, July 24, 2015
Start: 2015-07-24T19:25
End: 2015-07-24T19:25
Location: South Dakota

July 24, 2015 · NWS UNR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A thunderstorm briefly became severe over the northern Black Hills and produced quarter sized hail that covered the ground at Iron Creek Lake.

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: 1

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 thunderstorm briefly became severe over the northern Black Hills and produced quarter sized hail that covered the ground at Iron Creek Lake.

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 Jul 24, 4:17 PM MST, 3 hours 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 24, 4:17 PM MST, 3 hours 8 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR WESTERN SD AND NORTHEASTERN WY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD
517 PM MDT FRI JUL 24 2015

.SHORT TERM...THIS EVENING THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT
ISSUED AT 157 PM MDT FRI JUL 24 2015

WATER VAPOR SHOWS FLAT UPPER RIDGE OVER THE NRN PLAINS WITH SW
FLOW EXTENDING FROM THE GREAT BASIN THROUGH THE CNTRL ROCKIES.
SHORT WAVE ENERGY IS NOTED LIFTING OUT OF NRN NV INTO NRN UT/WRN
WY. AT THE SFC...BROAD HIGH COVERS NERN WY/WRN SD/NWRN NEB.

THIS AFTN/TONIGHT...PLENTY OF SUBSIDENCE AND LITTLE IN THE WAY OF
UPPER ENERGY THIS AFTN LEADING TO MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES.
HOWEVER...HIGHER RES MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW SOME DIURNALLY DRIVEN
ACTIVITY DEVELOPING GENERALLY NORTH/I-90. MLCAPE IS IN THE
500-1000J/KG RANGE AND SHEAR IS SUFFICIENT FOR A STRONGER TO SVR
STORM OR TWO IF ANY THING DEVELOPS. A BETTER CHANCE FOR STORMS
WILL ARRIVE TONIGHT AS AFORMENTIONED WAVE APPROACHES OUR WRN/NRN
ZONES. ADDITIONAL ACTIVITY POSSIBLE OVER SCNTRL SD GIVEN MODEST
THETA-E ADVECTION/LLJ.

SATURDAY...ACTIVITY MAY BE ONGOING IN THE MRNG WITH UPPER WAVE
CROSSING OUR NRN ZONES. SURFACE LOW CROSSING THROUGH WRN SD WILL
AID IN MORE ACTIVITY DEVELOPING DURING THE AFTN...WITH BEST SVR
THREAT IN OUR CNTRL SD ZONES WHERE MLCAPE OF 2000-3000J/KG AND
MODEST SHEAR EXPECTED. HIGH TEMPS EXPECTED TO BE SIMILAR TO TODAY.

.LONG TERM...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY
ISSUED AT 157 PM MDT FRI JUL 24 2015

A WEAK WAVE WILL MOVE THROUGH THE SOUTHWEST FLOW
SUNDAY...BRINGING A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.
UPPER TROUGH IS PROGGED TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE NW PAC COAST
SUNDAY...THEN MOVE ACROSS THE NRN PLAINS/SRN CANADA MONDAY INTO
TUESDAY. WARM AND UNSTABLE AIR WILL ADVECT INTO THE REGION AHEAD OF
THE LOW...WITH TEMPS IN THE 90S AND DEWPOINTS ACROSS THE CNTRL SD
PLAINS IN THE 60S BOTH SUNDAY AND MONDAY. COULD SEE STORMS DEVELOP
ALONG A COOL FRONT SOUTH OF THE SURFACE LOW MONDAY INTO MONDAY
NIGHT...HOWEVER BEST UPPER LEVEL FORCING APPEARS TO BE NORTH OF THE
CWA. COOLER AND DRIER AIR WILL PUSH IN BEHIND THE FRONT AND REMAIN
FOR THE REST OF THE LONG TERM. TEMPS WILL BE NEAR TO SLIGHTLY BELOW
AVERAGE.

&&

.AVIATION...(FOR THE 00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY EVENING)
ISSUED AT 515 PM MDT FRI JUL 24 2015

ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT...WITH LCL MVFR
VSBY AND GUSTY WINDS. OTHERWISE VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL
THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE AREA
SATURDAY AFTERNOON.

&&

.UNR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
SD...NONE.
WY...NONE.
&&

SHORT TERM...JOHNSON
LONG TERM...WARD
AVIATION...7

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 24, 3:44 AM MST, 15 hours 41 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD
444 AM MDT FRI JUL 24 2015

SDZ001-002-012>014-024>032-041>044-046-047-049-072>074-WYZ054>058-
071-251300-
HARDING-PERKINS-BUTTE-NORTHERN MEADE CO PLAINS-ZIEBACH-
NORTHERN BLACK HILLS-NORTHERN FOOT HILLS-RAPID CITY-
SOUTHERN FOOT HILLS-CENTRAL BLACK HILLS-SOUTHERN BLACK HILLS-
CUSTER CO PLAINS-PENNINGTON CO PLAINS-HAAKON-FALL RIVER-SHANNON-
JACKSON-BENNETT-MELLETTE-TODD-TRIPP-STURGIS/PIEDMONT FOOT HILLS-
SOUTHERN MEADE CO PLAINS-HERMOSA FOOT HILLS-NORTHERN CAMPBELL-
SOUTHERN CAMPBELL-WESTERN CROOK-WYOMING BLACK HILLS-WESTON-
NORTHEASTERN CROOK-
444 AM MDT FRI JUL 24 2015

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS MAY DEVELOP OVER THE BLACK HILLS THIS
AFTERNOON...AND MAY PRODUCE LARGE HAIL AND STRONG WIND GUSTS.
ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE ACROSS NORTHWESTERN SOUTH
DAKOTA OVERNIGHT...BUT ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE SATURDAY...MAINLY OVER SOUTH
CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA. STORMS CONTINUING LATE SATURDAY NIGHT MAY
ALSO PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN OVER WEST CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA.
THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF NEXT WEEK...WITH
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE OVER NORTHWESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA
MONDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY.

&&

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES...
OR CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT WEATHER.GOV/RAPIDCITY

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 24, 6:46 PM MST, 39 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Special weather statement, Jul 24, 7:08 PM MST, 17 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Local storm report, Jul 24, 7:10 PM MST, 15 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Special weather statement, Jul 24, 7:11 PM MST, 14 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Local storm report, Jul 24, 7:20 PM MST, 5 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Local storm report, Jul 24, 7:22 PM MST, 3 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

The Rapid City radar (KUDX), 96 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:24 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Lawrence

When: July 24, 7:25 PM MST
Where: Lawrence County, 7.45 mi NW of Cheyenne Crossing
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 44.372, -103.982

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

Every storm in South Dakota in 2015 Every state in 2015 This day in weather history Warnings in South Dakota, July 2015

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 592241.