National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Scattered Severe Thunderstorms Across the Northern Plains; Fire Weather Concerns in the Western U.S.

Scattered severe thunderstorms are forecast across central and eastern North Dakota, as well as far northwest Minnesota Saturday (Slight Risk level 2 of 5). Damaging wind gusts are the primary threat. Elevated to critical fire weather conditions will persist through the weekend across the Western U.S. Isolated dry thunderstorms could lead to new fire starts over portions of the northern Rockies. Read More >

Drought conditions have expanded across South Dakota, with 72% of the state in Moderate Drought, 42% in Severe Drought and 11% in Extreme Drought. Click the image below to visit the Drought Monitor website for South Dakota specifically. This product updates weekly on Thursdays, and the State Climatologist takes many factors into account such as precipitation amounts up until each respective Tuesday morning. If you would like to provide input regarding drought conditions/impacts in your area, please visit http://droughtreporter.unl.edu/map/ and click "Submit a Report" at the top of the page.