On the evening of June 24, 2003, eastern South Dakota experienced a record 67 tornadoes within an eight hour time frame. For members of our staff, it was a "career" night and one that won't soon be forgotten not only by this office but by many people that were affected by the storms. June 24, 2003 is best known for the tornado that destroyed the town of Manchester, SD. However, there were many other communities that were affected by tornadoes that evening, including Woonsocket, Davis, and Hartford just to name a few.
As the events of June 24th began to unfold, our friends at KSFY TV came out to do a behind the scenes look into the operations of our office. It just so happened they were here for one of the biggest, if the not "the" biggest, nights of severe weather in South Dakota history. Here's the video that provides a glimpse back in time on this day.
Due to the large number of photos we have received, we have divided the pictures onto two separate pages:
ABUS34 KFSD 260125 PNSFSD PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 726 PM CDT WED JUN 25 2003 ....MANCHESTER TORNADO RATED F4.... THE LARGE TORNADO THAT DESTROYED THE COMMUNITY OF MANCHESTER IN KINGSBURY COUNTY SOUTH DAKOTA IS OFFICIALLY CLASSIFIED AS AN F4 TORNADO BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. THIS TORNADO...FIRST TOUCHING DOWN IN NORTHEAST SANBORN COUNTY...MOVED THROUGH MANCHESTER AT APPROXIMATELY 745 PM TUESDAY EVENING JUNE 24 2003. AS THE TORNADO MOVED THROUGH MANCHESTER IT WAS ABOUT A 1/2 MILE WIDE. THE F4 DAMAGE EXTENDED 1 1/2 MILES SOUTH OF MANCHESTER...THROUGH THE SMALL COMMUNITY...TO 2 1/4 MILES NORTH OF MANCHESTER. THE TOTAL TORNADO PATH WILL BE DETERMINED BY AN AERIAL SURVEY PLANNED FOR THURSDAY...BUT IT IS ESTIMATED TO BE AROUND 25 MILES LONG. F4 TORNADO WINDS RANGE FROM 207 MPH TO 260 MPH ON THE FUJITA SCALE. NWS SIOUX FALLS RECEIVED REPORTS OF 40 TO 60 TORNADOES ACROSS SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA IN AN 8 HOUR PERIOD TUESDAY EVENING. MOST OF THESE STORMS ARE YET TO BE SURVEYED...BUT OTHER STORMS CLASSIFIED TODAY INCLUDE: F3 TORNADO (158-206 MPH) 1 MILE WEST OF WOONSOCKET...IN SANBORN COUNTY...AT APPROXIMATELY 630 PM. F3 TORNADO (158-206 MPH) 1 1/2 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CAVOUR...BEADLE COUNTY...AROUND 930 PM. A CLUSTER OF F1 (73-112 MPH) AND F2 (113-157 MPH) TORNADOES IN THE VICINITY OF MT VERNON AND MITCHELL IN DAVISON COUNTY...BETWEEN 530 PM AND 6 PM. F1 (AROUND 100 MPH) TORNADO IN THE HARTFORD HEIGHTS AREAS WEST OF SIOUX FALLS...AROUND 1005 PM. ADDITIONAL FIELD SURVEYS WILL BE CONDUCTED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN THE DAYS AHEAD. GREG HARMON METEOROLOGIST IN CHARGE $$
ABUS34 KFSD 261931 PNSFSD PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 230 PM CDT THU JUN 26 2003 ...ADDITIONAL DAMAGE SURVEY RESULTS FROM TUESDAY NIGHT STORMS... IN ADDITION TO THE STRONG TORNADOES SURVEYED IN THE WOONSOCKET... CAVOUR AND MANCHESTER AREAS...THERE WERE A NUMBER OF TORNADOES WHICH WERE REPORTED TUESDAY EVENING SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST OF SIOUX FALLS. A GROUND SURVEY ACROSS FAR SOUTHWEST MINNEHAHA...EASTERN TURNER AND SOUTHWEST LINCOLN COUNTIES FOUND 10 DISTINCT TORNADOES...ALONG WITH A FOUR MILE PATH OF STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE. FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF AREAS SURVEYED: F2 TORNADO (113-157 MPH) 2 MILES EAST OF DAVIS...TURNER COUNTY...AT 829 PM. TORNADO MOVED FROM SOUTH TO NORTH. F1 TORNADO (73-112 MPH) 2 MILES NORTH OF DAVIS...TURNER COUNTY...AT 757 PM. TORNADO MOVED FROM SOUTHEAST TO NORTHWEST. F1 TORNADO (73-112 MPH) 1 MILE NORTHWEST OF CENTERVILLE TO 3 MILES NORTHWEST OF CENTERVILLE...TURNER COUNTY...AROUND 800 PM. TORNADO CURVED FROM SOUTHEAST TO NORTHWEST. F1 TORNADO (73-112 MPH) 6 MILES NORTHWEST OF BERESFORD...LINCOLN COUNTY...AROUND 810 PM. TORNADO MOVED FROM SOUTHEAST TO NORTHWEST. F1 TORNADO (73-112 MPH) 4 MILES NORTHWEST OF CENTERVILLE...TURNER COUNTY...AROUND 815 PM. TORNADO MOVED FROM SOUTHEAST TO NORTHWEST. F1 TORNADO (73-112 MPH) 8 MILES NORTHWEST OF BERESFORD...LINCOLN COUNTY...AROUND 830 PM. TORNADO MOVED FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST. F1 TORNADO (73-112 MPH) WEST SIDE OF VIBORG...TURNER COUNTY... AROUND 1040 PM. TORNADO MOVED FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST. F0 TORNADO (40-72 MPH) SOUTHEAST CENTERVILLE...TURNER COUNTY... AROUND 720 PM. BRIEF TOUCHDOWN. F0 TORNADO (40-72 MPH) SOUTHEAST CENTERVILLE...TURNER COUNTY... AROUND 725 PM. BRIEF TOUCHDOWN. F0 TORNADO (40-72 MPH) PARKER...TURNER COUNTY...BETWEEN 915 PM AND 930 PM. TORNADO MOVED FROM SOUTH TO NORTH. STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE (AROUND 100 MPH)...3 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WALL LAKE TO THE SOUTHEAST SIDE OF WALL LAKE...AROUND 1000 PM. THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LISTING OF EVERY TORNADO WHICH OCCURRED IN THIS AREA TUESDAY EVENING...SIMPLY THOSE TORNADOES FOR WHICH THE SURVEY TEAM COULD DOCUMENT DAMAGE DURING THE GROUND SURVEY ON WEDNESDAY. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IS PLANNING AN AERIAL SURVEY TO OBTAIN A BROADER LOOK AT THE AREA LATER THIS WEEK. JENNIFER HACKER SENIOR FORECASTER $$
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