Funnel Cloud in McPherson County, South Dakota

The public relayed through Facebook the presence of a funnel cloud near the town of Leola.

Widespread thunderstorms developed during the early afternoon hours on May 23rd in the vicinity of a low pressure system and its associated warm and cold fronts. These storms produced large hail, damaging winds and a pair of funnel clouds. The largest hail observed was golf ball sized 9 miles west of Orient and 7 miles southeast of Burdette. 1 inch hail was also observed in the city of Aberdeen. In addition to the large hail, strong winds were also observed. A weather station 3 miles south of Saint Lawrence recording a wind gust of 76 mph, with an additional 4 other weather stations recording wind gusts in excess of 58 mph scattered across central, north central and northeast South Dakota.