In the early evening hours on May 7th, strong north winds contributed to a boat capsizing in northeast South Dakota. A fishing boat carrying two men began taking on water and capsized on South Red Iron Lake , just off South Dakota Highway 10 between Sisseton and Britton.
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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 ABR wrote it up.
In the early evening hours on May 7th, strong north winds contributed to a boat capsizing in northeast South Dakota. A fishing boat carrying two men began taking on water and capsized on South Red Iron Lake , just off South Dakota Highway 10 between Sisseton and Britton. One of the men was able to swim to an island while dragging his brother with him. The one man was unconscious and was unable to be revived by a deputy. The other man was treated for hypothermia. The water temperatures were very cold in the mid 40s. The winds were gusting from 25 to 35 mph contributing to the boat capsizing.
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 May 7, 1:55 PM CST, 3 hours 20 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Aberdeen SD 255 PM CDT Thu May 7 2020 .SHORT TERM...(This Evening through Friday Night) Issued at 254 PM CDT Thu May 7 2020 The area of low pressure rotating through western SD this afternoon that is responsible for the bands of rain in central SD will exit this evening. High pressure will build in bringing cold and dry air tonight and Friday. Temperatures will fall 15 degrees below average with lows in the 20s as caa at h85 drops temps as low as -6C. Winds will diminish over central SD, so widespread frost will also be possible there. Clouds will move back in Friday night ahead of the next low keeping temps above freezing but still cool in the 30s. .LONG TERM...(Saturday through Thursday) Issued at 254 PM CDT Thu May 7 2020 The main challenges for the long term period are multiple precipitation inducing shortwaves and well below average temperatures and frost potential through Monday night. The period starts out with sharp west coast ridge and deep low pressure over the northeastern US/southeastern Canada. With the area in northwest flow, multiple shortwaves will traverse the region. Most areas will likely see less than a quarter inch with a system passing through Saturday/Saturday night, although portions of northeastern South Dakota and west central Minnesota could see more. Light snow could be mixed in as well Saturday night/Sunday morning, although little to no accumulation is expected. Windy northwest winds will accompany this system. A second and less pronounced wave will pass through Sunday, though this wave lacks moisture and is unlikely to produce much if any precipitation. Models begin to diverge early next week, with deterministic solutions for the GFS and EC progging another wave of energy passing through the region sometime Tuesday through Wednesday, while the Canadian keeps this energy off to the northeast. Temperatures remain below average through the entire period, though try to rebound during the latter half of next week. By Thursday, forecast temps are still below average, but only by a few degrees, although this has trended down a bit in the last few NBM runs. With this, Saturday through Monday will see highs 10 to 15 degrees below average for most of the area with lows around 10 degrees below average. In fact, NAEFS and especially ENS Standardized Anomalies for Sunday night are two to three standard deviations below climatological normal from the 850 mb level to the 500 mb level. Areas to widespread frost is likely every night through Monday night. Even in areas where frost doesn't occur, lows in the upper 20s (mid 20s for most areas Sunday night) to low 30s every night will likely have severe impacts on unprotected plants. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Friday Afternoon) Issued at 1221 PM CDT Thu May 7 2020 Terminals KABR,KATY,KPIR,KMBG VFR conditions are expected at all sites except Pierre where rain is forecast to reduce conditions to MVFR at times this afternoon and evening. ***Construction to improve the taxiway for runway 13 at the KPIR terminal may cause an occasional temporary visibility reduction due to blowing dust (bldu), mainly during daytime hours UFN. && .ABR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SD...None. MN...None. && SHORT TERM...Wise LONG TERM...Telken AVIATION...Wise
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Aberdeen SD 337 AM CDT Thu May 7 2020 MNZ039-046-SDZ003>011-015>023-033>037-045-048-051-080845- 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- 337 AM CDT Thu May 7 2020 /237 AM MDT Thu May 7 2020/ This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for west central Minnesota, central South Dakota, north central South Dakota and northeast South Dakota. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Frost will be possible later tonight into Friday morning as low temperatures drop into the upper 20s, to the lower 30s. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. SD
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strong Wind, Marshall | 2020-05-07 | 47 | Male | In Water | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in South Dakota in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, May 2020
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: 897450.