This Day in Weather History: May 12th

Weather History - May 12th

May 12th, 1984:

An F3 tornado wiped out seven farms, crippled fifteen others, killed livestock and scattered several cars and machinery in its path. The tornado first touched down seven miles north and one mile east of Clark and moved southeast through the southwestern sections of Henry until it dissipated at Grover in Codington County. The path of destruction began on a farm where two barns, a steel grain bin, and a pole barn were demolished, and machinery was damaged. As the tornado moved further southeast, it struck the southwest sections of Henry and split into two tornadoes that moved in two different directions. One went to the northeast, inflicted no damage, and dissipated, while the other went southeast and continued its destruction path to Grover. Small hail, accumulation to fifteen inches deep, was experienced at Henry, and tornado damage included broken windows, numerous homes, and three trailer homes were demolished. Eighty power poles and several miles of power lines were lost along the path, affecting power to over 1,000 people. A small plane, southwest of Garden City, was wrapped around a pole.