HARRISBURG, S.D. (KELO-AM) -- Mother Nature unleashed pounding rain, bright flashes of lightning, and thunder booms late Tuesday evening in this Lincoln County community.
The storm came through town starting about 9:20 p.m. and was still going strong at 9:35 p.m.
Outside the KELO AM studios in downtown Sioux Falls pea sized hale was spotted for a brief time. Golf ball size hale struck the Parker area
Minehaha County Emergency Management reports on Twitter that crews are responding to at least two building fires in the area, possibly sparked by lightning strikes. Xcel energy reported just over 15 hundred customers were without power in Sioux Falls as the storm rolled through.
National Weather Service storm reports indicate hale between .88 in and 1 inch in diameter fell in southern portions of Sioux Falls. Wind gusts also uprooted trees and tore the roof off a mobile home near West 16th Street and Marion Road.
Sioux Falls received the mild portion of the line of storms, which began in the Missouri River Valley early Tuesday afternoon and crawled across the state. Tornado touchdowns were reported from near Gregory in south-central South Dakota to Groton in the northeast corner of the state. Wind damage along that line was also reported. Two inch hale was also reported in northern South Dakota.
The good news in Tuesday's weather was the rainfall totals in the northern part of the state, where severe drought conditions have been creeping in. As of 10PM on Tuesday, Pierre reported 1.53 inches of rain, while Aberdeen had close to three inches.
(KELO Radio's Mike Leischner contributed to this report)
