On this Day in Weather History... In 2010, monstrous severe thunderstorms bombarded parts of Central South Dakota with destructive hail. Many hailstones were 6 to 8 inches in diameter! The largest hailstone reached an incredible 8 inches in diameter and weighed 1.94 pounds, making it the largest and heaviest hailstone in United States history. The humongous hailstone landed in Vivian, located about 15 miles south of Pierre. No doubt, the horrific hail punched holes in many roofs and patios. It is believed that the incredibly intense updrafts associated with the Vivian severe thunderstorm ranged from 160 to 180 mph! These extremely dangerous thunderstorms also unleashed 80 to 90 mph winds, and produced 2 tornadoes. Minnesota has been referred to as the state with 10,000 lakes. In 1987, violent thunderstorms practically turned Minneapolis St. Paul into the Twin Cities with 10,000 lakes. Around 10 inches of rain drenched Minneapolis in six and a half hours, of which 5.26 inches swamped the city in 2 hours. The flash flooding was horrific as it turned streets into rushing rivers, parking lots into lakes, and storm sewers into spouting geysers. The flooding caused $21.3 million damage and 2 people drown in the disaster. In addition, an F3 tornado struck nearby Maple Grove, causing an additional $5 million damage. Parts of Southwest Minnesota were bombarded by baseball sized hail.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 10:36:08 +0000