Rapid City, SD

Weather Forecast Office

July 6, 2020 Tornadoes and Severe Thunderstorms

Overview

On the afternoon of July 6, 2020, powerful thunderstorms developed across northeastern Wyoming and southeastern MT. They merged and strengthened as they moved over Sundance and into the Black Hills area.

The first tornado of the day was confirmed by video and began approximately 8 miles NNW of New Haven, WY. This tornado moved southeastward for approximately 8 minutes, traveling over largely unpopulated portions of northwestern Crook County with limited vegetation. Due to a lack of discernible damage, an official rating for this tornado could not be determined. Several other funnel clouds were reported around the Sundance area, and Sundance received some wind damage from the storm.

Another tornado was reported south of Cement Ridge in the northern Black Hills, which resulted in widespread snapped and uprooted trees. The tornado lasted for approximately 20 minutes and traveled for over 7 miles, crossing the state line from southeastern Crook County into western Lawrence County. The scope of tree damage, with a swath nearly half a mile wide at times, indicated that this was a significant tornado. This damage was consistent with estimated maximum wind gusts of 120 mph, corresponding to an enhanced Fujita scale rating of EF2.

Tennis ball to baseball sized hail was reported over parts of northeastern WY, the Black Hills, and the Rapid City area. As the storm tracked eastward, it developed into more of a wind producer. Winds up to 75 mph were reported across parts of south central South Dakota.

12 mi SE Rapid City
(B. Fleming)

Tornado
Photos
Radar
Storm Reports

Tornadoes

Tornado - 8 miles NNW New Haven
Crook County, WY

Date	07/06/2020
Time (Local)	5:26 PM to 5:34 PM
EF Rating	Unknown
Est. Peak Winds	Unknown
Path Length	Estimated 3.68 mi
Max Width	50 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0
Summary: Based on video evidence and radar imagery, this tornado developed in a largely unpopulated area in northwestern Crook County, approximately 8 miles NNW of New Haven near Driscoll Creek. The tornado slowly traveled southeastward over the course of 8 minutes, crossing Cedar Creek before ending just northwest of Little Missouri Road. Due to the lack of structures or appreciable vegetation cover along the path, an EF rating was unable to be determined for this tornado.

Track Map


Life cycle of the tornado (courtesy Tom A. Warner)

Videos and Tweets

Video Courtesy Tom A. Warner

Video Courtesy Bob Conzemius

NW Crook County Tornado around 5:30 Monday evening 7-6-2020 #wywx @NWSRapidCity @NBCNews @BobRiggio @NewsCenter1 pic.twitter.com/soBOVX3pYf
— Brant Beckman â›ˆ (@BrantBeckmanwx) July 6, 2020

Tornado on the ground SW of Highway 212. Location tagged. #mtwx pic.twitter.com/f5Vn6Svxek
— John Homenuk (@jhomenuk) July 6, 2020

Tornado - State Line
Crook County, WY to Lawrence County, SD

Date	07/06/2020
Time (Local)	6:38 PM to 6:58 PM
EF Rating	EF2
Est. Peak Winds	120 mph
Path Length	Estimated 7.4 mi
Max Width	770 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0
Summary: The tornado developed west of Riflepit Canyon, southeast of Sundance in far southeastern Crook County. The tornado moved east-southeastward through the northern Black Hills into South Dakota, causing significant tree damage along its path. It gradually weakened and dissipated west of Cheyenne Crossing. Numerous large Ponderosa pine trees were snapped along Rilepit, TInton, and Limestone Canyon Roads.

Track Map

Downloadable KMZ File


Photos of the tornado, taken from Terry Summit Road (courtesy Melissa Starck)


South Tinton Road (J. Speidel)


Riflepit Road (courtesy Ty Bischoff)		Limestone Road (NWS Damage Survey)	Timber Gulch Road (NWS Damage Survey)


Photos from aerial damage survey (courtesy U.S. Forest Service)

NEW: ground perspective of Black Hills, SD WEDGE TORNADO and damage survey from the Timber Gulch region of the National Forest from July 6 @RadarOmega_WX pic.twitter.com/Zh0hKTr8oX
— Reed Timmer (@ReedTimmerAccu) July 8, 2020

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0 Weak 65-85 mph	EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph	EF2 Significant 111-135 mph	EF3 Severe 136-165 mph	EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph	EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph

Photos


SW Rapid City (S. Coleman)	South Rapid City (T. Snyder)	South Rapid City (M. Riebe)	South Rapid City (A. Popken)


Rapid City (M. Thornton)	West Rapid City (K. Palmer)	South Rapid City (B. Aker)	West Rapid City (Y. Turner Charland)


Sundance (E. Ludes)	Sundance (E. Ludes)	Sundance (E. Ludes)	Sundance (E. Ludes)


Folsom (G. Peterson Mostek)	SW Rapid City (K. Graves)	SW Rapid City (R. Rae)	West Rapid City (C. Reiter)

Radar

Storm Reports

The storm reports listed below are in descending order and may not
necessarily be the final storm reports.

Hail reports listed by size (inches)

 SIZE    LOCATION                 ST  COUNTY           TIME
 ------  -----------------------  --  --------------   -------
  2.75   1 ESE JOHNSON SIDING     SD  PENNINGTON       0738 PM
  2.75   3 NW OSHOTO              WY  CROOK            0530 PM
                 TENNIS BALL TO BASEBALL HAIL. FUNNEL CLOUD,
                 BUT DIDN`T TOUCH DOWN.
  2.75   1 NW LIGHTNING FLAT      WY  CROOK            0500 PM
                 TENNIS BALL TO BASEBALL SIZE HAIL. LASTED 15-
                 20 MINUTES.
  2.50   4 SE FOLSOM              SD  CUSTER           0830 PM
  2.50   3 SSW DWTN RAPID CITY    SD  PENNINGTON       0749 PM
  2.50   3 WSW DWTN RAPID CITY    SD  PENNINGTON       0748 PM
  2.00   7 SW RAPID CITY ARPT     SD  PENNINGTON       0802 PM
  2.00   3 S DWTN RAPID CITY      SD  PENNINGTON       0751 PM
  2.00   4 S DWTN RAPID CITY      SD  PENNINGTON       0751 PM
  2.00   4 SW DWTN RAPID CITY     SD  PENNINGTON       0745 PM
  2.00   4 NE ROCKERVILLE         SD  PENNINGTON       0744 PM
  2.00   8 NW ROCKYPOINT          WY  CAMPBELL         0505 PM
                 SEVERAL INCHES OF LARGE HAIL. BROKEN WINDOWS.
  1.75   14 SSE HEREFORD          SD  MEADE            0817 PM
  1.75   7 SW RAPID CITY ARPT     SD  PENNINGTON       0755 PM
                 45-50 MPH WINDS
  1.75   2 SW DWTN RAPID CITY     SD  PENNINGTON       0745 PM
  1.75   11 SE SUNDANCE           WY  CROOK            0647 PM
  1.50   1 N HISEGA               SD  PENNINGTON       0736 PM
  1.25   8 S DWTN RAPID CITY      SD  PENNINGTON       0755 PM
  1.25   1 E DWTN RAPID CITY      SD  PENNINGTON       0750 PM
  1.00   7 NNE ELLSWORTH AFB      SD  MEADE            0815 PM
                 ESTIMATED 50 MPH WINDS
  1.00   1 N HISEGA               SD  PENNINGTON       0735 PM
  1.00   3 N JOHNSON SIDING       SD  PENNINGTON       0730 PM
  1.00   5 NW JOHNSON SIDING      SD  PENNINGTON       0730 PM
  1.00   6 SSE BROWNSVILLE        SD  LAWRENCE         0713 PM
  1.00   4 SSE DEVILS TOWER       WY  CROOK            0549 PM
  1.00   3 W SHADEHILL            SD  PERKINS          0250 PM
  0.50   10 N HULETT              WY  CROOK            0550 PM


Tstm wind reports listed by speed (mph)

 SPEED   LOCATION                 ST  COUNTY           TIME
 ------  -----------------------  --  --------------   -------
 75.00   2 W HAMILL               SD  TRIPP            1130 PM
 71.00   12 NW IDEAL              SD  TRIPP            1059 PM
 70.00   1 NE MIDLAND             SD  HAAKON           0952 PM
 70.00   1 NE MIDLAND             SD  HAAKON           0947 PM
 68.00   1 NE WINNER              SD  TRIPP            1121 PM
 65.00   1 NE MIDLAND             SD  HAAKON           0942 PM
 65.00   10 N HULETT              WY  CROOK            0550 PM
                 6 INCH TREE LIMBS BROKE, WINDS OF 60 TO 70
                 MPH ESTIMATED.
 64.00   1 NE WINNER              SD  TRIPP            1119 PM
 64.00   9 ENE BELVIDERE          SD  JACKSON          0957 PM
 64.00   3 E PHILIP               SD  HAAKON           0919 PM
 63.00   2 W HAMILL               SD  TRIPP            1125 PM
 63.00   7 ESE ROSEBUD            SD  TODD             1100 PM
 61.00   4 SSE WITTEN             SD  TRIPP            1104 PM
 61.00   4 W OTTUMWA              SD  HAAKON           0925 PM
 60.00   3 NW WASTA               SD  PENNINGTON       0858 PM
 60.00   14 SSE HEREFORD          SD  MEADE            0817 PM
 60.00   STURGIS                  SD  MEADE            0725 PM
 60.00   HOOVER                   SD  BUTTE            0710 PM
 60.00   10 NW CASTLE ROCK        SD  BUTTE            0645 PM
 58.00   7 NW ROCKYPOINT          WY  CROOK            0459 PM
 57.00   7 ESE ROSEBUD            SD  TODD             1055 PM
 54.00   WEWELA                   SD  TRIPP            1154 PM
 54.00   9 ENE BELVIDERE          SD  JACKSON          0952 PM
 53.00   12 WSW CASTLE ROCK       SD  BUTTE            0656 PM
 52.00   WEWELA                   SD  TRIPP            1139 PM
 51.00   1 NNE FAITH              SD  MEADE            0836 PM
 50.00   WEWELA                   SD  TRIPP            1149 PM
 50.00   2 W HAMILL               SD  TRIPP            1120 PM
 50.00   4 E CACTUS FLAT          SD  JACKSON          0954 PM
 50.00   4 E CACTUS FLAT          SD  JACKSON          0939 PM

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