SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Severe storms pushed through western South Dakota Monday, with one being rather destructive.
Meteorologist Adam Rutt looks at how it was able to produce such large hail.
Several strong to severe thunderstorms were observed on Monday in western and northwestern South Dakota, but one storm in particular took the cake in terms of intensity.
This cell, which formed northwest of Rapid City, tracked southeastward along the eastern Black Hills and interacted with a favorable environment for vertical development. The end result was the ability to produce strong updrafts that allowed hail to form up to three-and-a-quarter inches in diameter…about the size of a large apple.
Here’s how that works. As I mentioned, this storm had strong updrafts within itself. This allowed for supercool water droplets to be carried high into the air and freeze. Surrounding water droplets collide with this frozen core and accumulate on it, allowing the hailstone to grow.
As long as the updraft can keep the hail stone aloft, it can continue to accumulate more ice and grow larger and larger until it is too heavy to be supported by the updraft. Once that threshold is met, gravity takes care of the rest, and the hail falls to the ground.
We’ll get a break from organized chances for severe weather for a few days, but the late week outlook has a chance to at least see something East River. We’ll have to see whether large hail will be a potential or not in the coming days.
