Thunderstorm Wind in McPherson County, South Dakota

Showers and weak thunderstorms generated high winds across portions of central and north central South Dakota from the afternoon of April 22nd into the early morning hours of April 23rd. A peak wind gust of 71 mph was recorded at the Sand Lake RAWS 13 miles east northeast of Eureka, and at the South Dakota Department of Transportation mesonet station 5 miles north of Reliance. Winds were strong enough 5 miles east of Pollock to flatten a 10 by 10 outbuilding and gazebo, and power poles were snapped 6 miles north northeast of Eureka, with a loss of power to 615 customers. Power outages were also reported in Walworth county to 108 customers. The lightning overnight sparked a 30 acre fire near the town of Barnard in Brown county.