Hail and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, July 30, 2016

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in South Dakota, July 30, 2016
Start: 2016-07-30T16:20
End: 2016-07-30T21:45
Location: South Dakota

July 30, 2016 · NWS ABR · 15 events in 6 counties and zones

A pair of thunderstorms moving southeast brought large hail up to baseball size along with damaging winds up to seventy mph to parts of central and north central 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: 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 pair of thunderstorms moving southeast brought large hail up to baseball size along with damaging winds up to seventy mph to parts of central and north central 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 30, 1:45 PM MST, 2 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 30, 1:45 PM MST, 2 hours 35 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 30, 1:22 AM MST, 14 hours 58 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
322 AM CDT SAT JUL 30 2016

MNZ039-046-SDZ003>011-015>023-033>037-045-048-051-311100-
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-
322 AM CDT SAT JUL 30 2016 /222 AM MDT SAT JUL 30 2016/

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

ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON
THROUGH TONIGHT. WHILE SEVERE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED...SOME
THUNDERSTORMS COULD PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.

KF

The radar

The Bismarck radar (KBIS), 125 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:20 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Corson

When: July 30, 4:20 PM MST
Where: Corson County, 0.84 mi SW of Wakpala
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 45.660, -100.540

Seventy mph winds downed the empty water tower in Wakpala.

Thunderstorm Wind, Walworth

When: July 30, 5:59 PM CST
Where: Walworth County, 0.48 mi W of (Y26)mobridge Arpt
Measured: 59 kt (68 mph) measured gust
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 45.550, -100.410

Thunderstorm Wind, Walworth

When: July 30, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Walworth County, 0.48 mi W of (Y26)mobridge Arpt
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 45.550, -100.410

Seventy mph winds downed some power lines and many tree limbs in Mobridge.

Hail, Walworth

When: July 30, 6:05 PM CST
Where: Walworth County, 2.06 mi ESE of Mobridge
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 45.520, -100.390

Hail, Walworth

When: July 30, 6:05 PM CST
Where: Walworth County, 2.06 mi ESE of Mobridge
Measured: 1.5 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 45.520, -100.390

Hail, Walworth

When: July 30, 6:54 PM CST
Where: Walworth County, 6.84 mi W of Akaska
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 45.320, -100.260

Thunderstorm Wind, Walworth

When: July 30, 6:55 PM CST
Where: Walworth County, 6.84 mi W of Akaska
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 45.320, -100.260

Sixty mph winds were estimated.

Hail, Potter

When: July 30, 7:20 PM CST
Where: Potter County, 4.62 mi WSW of Gorman
Measured: 0.88 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 44.900, -100.170

Hail, Sully

When: July 30, 7:27 PM CST
Where: Sully County, 4.16 mi ESE of Laurel
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 44.800, -100.240

Golf ball size hail caused damage to the home.

Hail, Sully

When: July 30, 7:30 PM CST
Where: Sully County, 3.21 mi NW of Onida Muni Arpt
Measured: 1.25 in hail
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 44.730, -100.150

Large hail damaged a vehicle along with breaking several windows out of the home.

Hail, Sully

When: July 30, 7:35 PM CST
Where: Sully County, 0.49 mi E of Onida Muni Arpt
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 44.700, -100.090

Hail, Sully

When: July 30, 7:36 PM CST
Where: Sully County, Onida
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 44.700, -100.070

Hail, Sully

When: July 30, 8:09 PM CST
Where: Sully County, 6.93 mi S of Clifton
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 44.550, -100.190

Thunderstorm Wind, Hughes

When: July 30, 8:40 PM CST
Where: Hughes County, 0.49 mi W of (Pir)pierre Arpt
Measured: 51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 44.380, -100.290

Hail, Jones

When: July 30, 9:45 PM CST
Where: Jones County, 15.88 mi E of Van Metre
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 44.160, -100.480

What these are

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.
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 2016 Every state in 2016 This day in weather history Warnings in South Dakota, July 2016

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: 653707, 653710, 653708, 653691, 653692, 653694, 653712, 653696, 653699, 653702, 653703, 653704, 653705, 653713, 653706.