SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO)– While most of the week was largely quiet and comfortable at times, the weekend picked up right where the middle of the month left off.
Both days featured well-above-average temperatures with even higher humidity and heat indices across the region. Though the ingredients didn’t come together on Sunday, Saturday was a different story.
Storm development began around mid-afternoon in central South Dakota. This was where our hail reports came in, including a report of tennis-ball-sized hail in Jones County. That storm tracked eastward along Highway 14 and produced 70- to 80-mile-per-hour gusts through Hyde and Hand Counties.
Storms also developed in northwestern South Dakota and tracked northeastward toward Mobridge. The line held and eventually moved along Highway 12 through Aberdeen, where 70-mile-per-hour gusts were recorded. These storms eventually exited to the east of Milbank.
To the south, surface-based storms east of Winner and Chamberlain organized and moved east along I-90…eventually making it to the Sioux Falls area around 8:30 pm Central Time. This is when the storms hit their peak intensity, producing 70 to 90 mile per hour gusts in the area…including a 92 mile per hour gust in Tea and 82 miles per hour in Harrisburg…