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Severe Thunderstorms and Heavy Rain from the Plains to the Mid-Atlantic; Ongoing Heat in the South

Severe thunderstorms and showers pose a risk for excessive rain, localized flash flooding, strong gusts and/or large hail across portions of the northern and central Plains, the Lower Missouri to Lower Ohio Valleys, and across the Mid-Atlantic this afternoon and evening. Extreme heat is ongoing over the Desert Southwest and the Southeast U.S.. Read More >

Overview

A potent cold front swept through the region on the late afternoon and evening of Wednesday, January 13th, 2021. Behind the front, northwesterly winds became very strong. Wednesday night through Thursday night, winds across the area were sustained at 35 to 50 mph, with gusts of 60 to more than 80 mph. In Harding County, a gust of 93 mph was measured with the frontal passage! Winds finally diminished Friday morning. Numerous rollovers were reported during this long duration high wind event, especially along I-90 across western South Dakota. Many homes and businesses sustained property damage, and several wind driven grass fires produced additional damage.

The image to the right shows the wind observations at the NWS office near downtown Rapid City for the duration of the high wind event.
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NWS Rapid City Wind Observations
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