This Day in Weather History: May 18th

Weather History - May 18th

May 18th, 1918:

An estimated F2 tornado moved NNE from 5 miles NNW of Ferney, across the eastern edge of Groton. Homes were unroofed, and barns were destroyed. Nine farms lost buildings. One man was injured in a barn, another in a car that was thrown from the road. The estimated damage was set at $60,000. Tornadoes were also seen in Lincoln and Sanborn Counties in South Dakota.

Also, an estimated F2 tornado moved northeast through the townships of Akron and Artichoke in Big Stone County, Minnesota. About 300 farms were damaged. The funnel dissipated on Artichoke Lake.

May 18th, 1960:

Pierre received 1.96 inches of rain in less than 30 minutes, which caused flash flooding. About 30 basements were flooded, and one home suffered extensive cave-in damage. Flash flooding from 2 to 3 inches of rain occurred near Presho, washing out county roads, three bridges, and a grain storage bin. Gettysburg also received 2.5 inches of rain.

May 18th, 1996:

A brief F0 tornado touched down and cut a narrow path from 2 miles east of Willow Lake with no damage reported.

A 100 mph wind gust blew down 38 large trees on Highway 81 from the junction of Lake Norden corner on Highway 28 to the intersection of the Hayti corner. Also, four double-posted and five single-posted signs were broken off, and one single-posted steel sign was bent over.