Precipitation varied between 50 and 100 percent of normal with near normal temperatures during May 2026.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 FSD wrote it up.
Precipitation varied between 50 and 100 percent of normal with near normal temperatures during May 2026.
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 Sioux Falls, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 30, 11:29 PM CST, 31 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
1229 AM CDT Fri May 1 2026
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Scattered light rain showers continue to move through areas
mainly east of I-29 into the early morning hours.
- Frost potential looks to be greatest for portions of southeast
South Dakota and southwest Minnesota late tonight/early Friday
and a Frost Advisory remains in effect from 1 am to 8 am CDT
Friday.
- Conditions appear more favorable for widespread frost by early
Saturday morning. Additional headlines will likely be needed
Friday night-early Saturday.
- After above normal temperatures over the weekend, more
seasonable conditions return by midweek as mostly dry
conditions persist.
&&
.UPDATE...
Issued at 939 PM CDT Thu Apr 30 2026
Spotty showers linger mainly east of I-29 and should continue to
drift east of the area through the pre-dawn hours. With pockets
of surface dew points still well above freezing trailing the light
showers, some questions whether temperatures roughly along/east
of IA/MN Highway 60 will cool enough to allow for impactful frost
development, but opted to leave the current advisory as is.
Potential for spotty afternoon showers toward the Highway 71
corridor has decreased since this time yesterday with Friday
looking like a dry but partly sunny day with decent afternoon
cumulus development. Friday night to early Saturday looks more
favorable for frost development across most of the forecast area
with mostly clear skies and light/variable winds within a broader
surface high. With current advisory in effect, do not plan to
issue any headlines for this period at this time, but anticipate
that one will be needed if forecast trends hold.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 154 PM CDT Thu Apr 30 2026
CURRENTS & TONIGHT: A mild day continues! Taking a look across the
area, we continue to see a growing cumulus ("Cu") field develop on
visible satellite imagery mainly due to about 100 J/kg or less of
instability above the mixed layer. As our next wave approaches from
the northwest, could see a few diurnally-driven showers develop
across the area mainly north of I-90. While accumulations will be
minimal, can't rule out a few pockets of moderate showers mainly
across southwestern MN. Otherwise, the main concern continues to be
the frost potential tonight. While there could be some lingering
clouds overnight, decided that the combination of temperatures near
to below freezing along with lighter surface winds tonight would be
enough to get scattered areas of frost to develop especially south
of I-90. With this in mind, decided to issue a Frost Advisory for
most areas from 1 am to 8 am on Friday. Make sure to cover/bring in
any susceptible plants!
THE WEEKEND: Looking into the weekend, could see some additional
spits to very light showers across southcentral SD to start the day
on Friday as another quick shortwave swings through. However, any
accumulations would be minimal (if any). With lighter winds expected
by Friday night with an approaching surface high, we could see our
first widespread freeze with lows expected to be just near to just
below freezing. With this in mind, make to cover/bring in any
susceptible plants from the colder conditions. By Saturday,
more northwesterly flow will set up aloft as rising heights over
the western CONUS begin to flatten. Temperatures will trend
warmer as increasing warm air advection (WAA) and southwesterly
surface winds leads to highs in the mid 60s to low 70s. Looking
aloft, another dry cold front will swing through the area from
Saturday night into Sunday. Otherwise, the above normal
conditions will continue into Sunday as highs approach the upper
60s to low 70s for the day. All in all, this weekend looks to
be beautiful to say the least especially with the light winds in
place.
NEXT WEEK: Heading into the extended period, the warmest conditions
of the week will likely occur on Monday ahead of our next cold front
with highs mainly in the upper 60s to upper 70s. Otherwise, more
seasonable conditions will return through midweek with highs mainly
in the upper 50s to mid 60s. Lastly, mostly dry conditions will
continue through the end of the week.
&&
.AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z SATURDAY/...
Issued at 1229 AM CDT Fri May 1 2026
Lingering showers/clouds near/east of I-29 are slow to exit, but
should continue to drift east-southeast and out of our forecast
area prior to daybreak. Localized MVFR ceilings accompany some of
the showers, but overall VFR conditions will prevail through this
TAF period.
Light and variable winds will favor a northerly direction in most
areas by daybreak, with moderate gusts 15-20kt along with scattered
diurnal cumulus at 5-7kft AGL range developing Friday afternoon.
&&
.FSD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
SD...Frost Advisory until 8 AM CDT this morning for SDZ038>040-050-
052>071.
MN...Frost Advisory until 8 AM CDT this morning for MNZ071-072-080-
081-089-090-097-098.
IA...Frost Advisory until 8 AM CDT this morning for IAZ001>003-
012>014-020>022-031-032.
NE...Frost Advisory until 8 AM CDT this morning for NEZ013-014.
&&
UPDATE...JH
DISCUSSION...05
AVIATION...JHHazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD 334 PM CDT Thu Apr 30 2026 IAZ001>003-012>014-020>022-031-032-MNZ071-072-080-081-089-090-097- 098-NEZ013-014-SDZ038>040-050-052>071-012045- Lyon-Osceola-Dickinson-Sioux-O'Brien-Clay-Plymouth-Cherokee- Buena Vista-Woodbury-Ida-Lincoln-Murray-Cottonwood-Nobles-Jackson- Pipestone-Rock-Dixon-Dakota-Beadle-Kingsbury-Brookings-Gregory- Jerauld-Sanborn-Miner-Lake-Moody-Brule-Aurora-Davison-Hanson-McCook- Minnehaha-Charles Mix-Douglas-Hutchinson-Turner-Bon Homme-Yankton- Union- 334 PM CDT Thu Apr 30 2026 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for northwest Iowa, west central Iowa, southwest Minnesota, northeast Nebraska, central South Dakota, east central South Dakota, south central South Dakota and southeast South Dakota. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and tonight. Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms will continue through the evening hours. Severe storms are not expected, but small hail may be possible. Depending on cloud cover, patchy to areas of frost may be possible by Friday morning. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday. Temperatures fall into the lower to mid 30s Friday night. Patchy to areas of frost are possible. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Severe (D2) drought conditions persisted through the month.
Severe (D2) drought conditions worsened to Extreme (D3) by mid-month.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, May 2026
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: 1343419, 1343420.