Parts of Custer State Park Damaged Sunday as Tornadoes Touch Down

Western South Dakota got a taste of just how violent Mother Nature can be during the summer months here in the state over the weekend.

Four confirmed tornadoes swept through Western parts of the state on Sunday (May 23), leaving a path of destruction in some areas.

Dakota News Now is reporting that two tornadoes touched down in Custer County in the southern Black Hills around 5 PM Sioux Falls time on Sunday. At roughly the same time, another two tornadoes touched down in Perkins County in the northwest corner of the state.

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According to Dakota News Now, the National Weather Service released a follow-up report on the weekend storm activity on Tuesday (May 25). The report says the twisters that rolled through Custer County were both classified as being EF-1 tornadoes with peak winds estimated at 104 miles per hour. The NWS says those two twisters had a damage path of over five miles. They stayed on the ground longer and caused more damage than the two that touched down in Perkins County.

There was damage to a number of trees and power poles throughout Custer State Park in the Black Hills as a result of Sunday's storm. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. But, 70-mile an hour straight-line winds and half-dollar size hail accompanied the Custer County tornadoes, which helped contribute to the damage.

The tornadoes that swept through Perkins County on Sunday were far less severe. The NWS told Dakota News Now, those two twisters passed over a section of open land, causing no damage. While still considered tornadoes, the wind speeds in the two Perkins County twisters were not high enough to constitute an EF rating.

Tornado season peaks during the month of June in South Dakota. The state typically averages 36 tornadoes each year, which is considered normal for a central plains state.

Source: Dakota News Now