Rain Providing Some Relief to Drought-Stricken Southern U.S.

A storm tracking across the southern U.S. will continue to bring areas of heavy thunderstorms with risks for severe weather and excessive rainfall from Texas to Florida through this weekend. While much of this rainfall will be beneficial to the drought, excessive rainfall may bring areas of flash and urban flooding. Read More >

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Rapid City's Mobile SKYWARN Spotter Page

- Do not use to report tornadoes, flash floods, and other extreme life-threatening situations. Call the National Weather Service to talk to a forecaster directly

Active Hazards (Click for Details)

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Local Storm Reports

Severe Weather Outlooks

Day 1

Day 2

Reporting

Information to Report:

Tornadoes, funnel clouds, wall clouds
Hail: 1/2" or larger (Click here for a ruler)
Wind Gusts: 50 mph or stronger
Flash Flooding: water depth and movement
Heavy Rain: falling at the rate of 1" or more per hour
Storm Location & Time Observed
Your Identity & Specific Location: street address, latitude/longitude, or distance from an intersection
Storm Damage

Reporting Procedures:

Notify dispatcher or law enforcement office
Activate local warning systems
Contact Rapid City NWS:

SD State Radio Network: "RAPID CITY WEATHER" on NWS-W talkgroup
WYOLINK Radio Network: "RAPID CITY WEATHER" on NWS RC talkgroup
605-341-7435 (local or cell) or 1-800-684-4163

Click here to send a report
Send pictures to: nws.rapidcity@noaa.gov
Send reports from your smartphone with the mPING app (download from your phone's app store)

Thunderstorm Information

Wall Cloud Characteristics:

Persists at least several minutes
Continuous, organized horizontal rotation
Ground-level winds flow toward the wall cloud
Upward motion in the base of the wall cloud

Wall Clouds	Shelf Clouds
Located below storm updraft	Located around storm downdraft
Toward back of storm	At leading edge of storm
Rotates horizontally	Doesn't rotate
Winds blow toward and upward into wall cloud	Winds blow downward and away from shelf cloud

Wind Speed Estimates

Description of Damage	Speed (mph)
Large branches move, telephone lines whistle	25-31
Whole trees move, difficult to walk against the wind	32-38
Twigs break of trees, wind impedes walking	39-54
Chimneys and TV antennas damaged, shallow-rooted trees uprooted	55-72
Roof surfaces peel off, windows break, mobile homes overturn	73-112
House roofs tear off, weak buildings and mobile homes destroyed, large trees uprooted	over 113

Hail Sizes

Description of Hail	Diameter (inches)
Pea	1/2
Penny, mothball	3/4
Nickel	7/8
Quarter	1
Half-dollar	1 1/4
Silver dollar, ping-pong ball, walnut	1 1/2
Golf ball	1 3/4
Tennis ball, snuff can	2 1/2
Baseball	2 3/4
Tea cup	3
Grapefruit	4
Softball	4 1/2