Thunderstorm Wind — Brookings, South Dakota

2002-07-28 · near Sinai, Brookings, South Dakota

Event narrative

Thunderstorm winds caused widespread structural, tree, and power line damage in and near Sinai. The roof was ripped off a mobile home, a well drilling business was destroyed, the siding from another business was ripped off, part of a grain elevator was smashed, several garages were destroyed or heavily damaged, several trees were blown down and widespread tree debris littered the area, and power lines and poles were blown down. Power outages lasted until the next day. At a farm just east of Sinai, five grain bins, a machine shed, and several small shacks were destroyed, and the farmhouse was damaged, with about 300 thousand dollars in damage estimated at this farm alone. Other small farm structures in the area were reported to be destroyed or damaged. Crops in the area were heavily damaged by the wind and accompanying hail, with one witness watching as a bean field "just disappeared." The crop damage was widespread, but the amount of crop damage could not be determined.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (44.2500, -97.0333)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5309776. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.