F4 Tornado — Mccook, South Dakota

1998-05-30 · near Spencer, Mccook, South Dakota

Event narrative

The tornado from Hanson County destroyed most of Spencer as it strengthened and continued to grow. Most homes, other buildings, and other structures in Spencer were completely levelled. Debris and belongings were scattered over a large area, and one receipt blown from Spencer was found just west of Chandler, MN about 80 miles east of Spencer. The tornado killed 6 and injured 150 in Spencer. The tornado continued southeast from Spencer, widened, then weakened, and dissipated 4 miles southwest of Salem with another tornado then forming from the same storm. The tornado caused additional damage to trees, power lines, crops, and buildings on farms after moving southeast of Spencer.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (43.7500, -97.6200)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5645426. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.