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Critical Fire Weather in the High Plains; Heavy Snow in the Western Mountains and Northern Plains

Gusty winds and low relative humidity will bring critical fire weather to the central and southern High Plains Wednesday. Two Pacific storms will continue impacting the mountains of the western U.S. into Thursday with gusty winds and heavy snow. Heavy snow and gusty winds will continue to impact the northern Plains into the central Great Lakes Wednesday. Read More >

Overview

Late in the evening on Wednesday, May 11, thunderstorms moved across south central South Dakota, while others developed over the Black Hills and moved northeast overnight. Portions of the western South Dakota plains were hit by multiple thunderstorms overnight, which brought damaging winds and large hail. The most severe wind damage occurred in the Red Owl area, where several outbuildings were substantially damaged or completely destroyed. A damage survey determined the damage was caused by very strong straight-line winds, not a tornado. While the highest measured wind gust was 76 mph, the structure damage indicated wind gusts were higher than 80 mph. 

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