Tornado and Hail in South Dakota, July 18, 2018

Name: Tornado and Hail in South Dakota, July 18, 2018
Start: 2018-07-18T10:30
End: 2018-07-18T18:00
Location: South Dakota

July 18, 2018 · NWS ABR · 8 events in 3 counties and zones

Severe thunderstorms brought quarter to golf ball hail to parts of central South Dakota along with an isolated tornado.

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: 8

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.

Severe thunderstorms brought quarter to golf ball hail to parts of central South Dakota along with an isolated tornado.

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 18, 5:37 AM CST, 4 hours 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 18, 5:37 AM CST, 4 hours 53 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 18, 3:30 AM CST, 7 hours before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Aberdeen SD
430 AM CDT Wed Jul 18 2018

MNZ039-046-SDZ003>011-015>023-033>037-045-048-051-190930-
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-
430 AM CDT Wed Jul 18 2018 /330 AM MDT Wed Jul 18 2018/

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

Areas of showers and thunderstorms are expected across the region
this afternoon and evening. A few storms could be on the strong
side with hail, gusty winds, and heavy rain. Also, there is an
isolated tornado threat over south central South Dakota.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday

No hazardous weather is expected at this time.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation may be requested. Weather spotters are
encouraged to submit reports to the National Weather Service in
Aberdeen. The public can submit reports on our web page, Facebook
page, or our Twitter feed.

TMT

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jul 18, 10:17 AM CST, 13 minutes before

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The radar

The Aberdeen radar (KABR), 203 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:27 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Lyman

When: July 18, 10:30 AM CST
Where: Lyman County, 1.47 mi SSW of Reliance Arpt
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 43.830, -99.580

Tornado, Hand

When: July 18, 4:21 PM CST to 4:22 PM CST
Where: Hand County, 9.69 mi N of St Lawrence to 9.83 mi N of St Lawrence
Rating: EF0
Path length: 0.15 mi
Path width: 10 yd
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 44.660, -98.940

A tornado touched down briefly in an open field. Path length and width were estimated.

Hail, Hand

When: July 18, 4:28 PM CST
Where: Hand County, 5.55 mi N of Miller
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 44.600, -98.990

Thunderstorm Wind, Hughes

When: July 18, 4:32 PM CST
Where: Hughes County, 0.49 mi W of (Pir)pierre Arpt
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 44.380, -100.290

Thunderstorm Wind, Hughes

When: July 18, 4:39 PM CST
Where: Hughes County, (Pir)pierre Arpt
Measured: 51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 44.380, -100.280

Hail, Hand

When: July 18, 4:45 PM CST
Where: Hand County, 6.91 mi N of St Lawrence
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 44.620, -98.930

Hail, Lyman

When: July 18, 5:54 PM CST
Where: Lyman County, 5.42 mi SW of Lyman
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 43.820, -99.800

Hail, Hand

When: July 18, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Hand County, 2.81 mi S of St Lawrence
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 44.480, -98.940

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
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.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in South Dakota in 2018 Every state in 2018 This day in weather history The tornado archive for South Dakota, 2018 Warnings in South Dakota, July 2018

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: 774798, 774803, 774799, 774804, 774805, 774800, 774801, 774802.