EF3 Tornado — Deuel, South Dakota

2025-06-28 · near Clear Lake, Deuel, South Dakota

Event narrative

A tornado developed east of Clear Lake, South Dakota, on the evening of June 28, 2025. Around 8:10 p.m., the tornado was still in a disorganized stage but was strong enough to intermittently touch down, rip a roof and door off of a barn and flip irrigation pivots on the north side of Highway 22 about two and a half miles east of Clear Lake. By approximately 8:14 p.m., the tornado crossed to the south side of Highway 22 and began to intensify. From there, it tracked slowly eastward, frequently changing appearance. Numerous reports, photos, and videos captured the tornado shapeshifting, including a distinct wobble or dancing motion. During this time, the tornado passed over a gravel pit, where large trees were snapped and windows were broken out of heavy machinery. Continuing east, the tornado reached 483rd Avenue, where it caused additional tree damage. Around 8:26 to 8:27 p.m., it crossed back to the north side of Highway 22, briefly stalled, and brought down a power pole. The tornado then picked up speed and continued east toward a farmstead on 484th Avenue, arriving around 8:31 p.m. The core of the tornado passed just north of the main house, but the property still sustained significant damage. A portion of the house roof panels were ripped off and windows were broken out. A machine shed was completely destroyed, along with a garage and another outbuilding. The shelterbelt on the north side of the property was heavily damaged, with tree trunks snapped, trees uprooted, and large branches broken. Around 8:32 p.m., the tornado continued east, passing north of another farmstead where a single shed was destroyed. Then, at approximately 8:34 p.m., the tornado directly struck a farmstead. Evidence of ground scouring was visible in the field before the tornado reached the property. As it approached, it tore through a wide shelterbelt, snapping and uprooting trees and completely blocking the driveway with debris. The house, which included the original structure that was over a century old combined with a newer addition, was completely wiped from its foundation. The debris was thrown west. The residents sheltered in the basement, where hay bales were lofted into the air and landed on top of them. Despite the extreme damage, only two non-life-threatening injuries were reported. A garage and machine shed directly east of the house were also completely swept off their slabs. An SUV and a half-ton Chevy Silverado pickup were inside the garage. Another SUV was parked outside. The two SUVs were lofted and ended up wedged in trees approximately 50 to 60 yards northeast of where the garage once stood. Many of those trees exhibited debarking. The half-ton Chevy Silverado pickup was hurled nearly 300 yards northeast. The truck's rear axle was torn completely off during flight, with no evidence of the vehicle rolling or tumbling until it hit the ground. A horse trailer and other farm equipment in and next to the machine shed were also thrown into the shelterbelt. On the south side of the property, two empty metal grain bins were wiped clean from their foundations. A concrete foundation barn was dismantled, a pole barn collapsed, and an empty concrete silo was completely swept from its slab. As the track continued northeast, fence posts were sheared off at ground level, and large pieces of debris were driven into the crop ground with extreme force. A trail of debris was scattered into the adjacent fields. The tornado track turned more to the north-northeast as it crossed 181st Street. More tree damage was observed, with trunks snapped and large branches down. Debris was caught in fence lines, and hay was seen hanging from power lines in the area. The tornado crossed 180th street and somewhere around 8:45 p.m. it began to rope out, swirling over an open field and tracking back to the southwest. It finally lifted around 8:49 p.m., concluding a nearly 40-minute track that stretched roughly 9.71 miles. The tornado was rated as a high-end EF3 with wind speeds estimated between 155 to 165 mph.

Wider weather episode

A volatile atmospheric setup on the afternoon and evening of June 28th led to the development of several powerful supercell thunderstorms across far eastern South Dakota. These storms produced multiple tornadoes, including two that caused significant damage in Deuel County. The strongest tornado was rated as a high-end EF3. Storms also produced large hail and instances of flash flooding from heavy rainfall.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (44.7535, -96.6318)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1275121. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.