Springtime weather in South Dakota has already been severe in many areas across the state. Strong winds, damaging hail, heavy rains, even tornados have been reported. Severe weather can be dangerous – even life threatening. Officials say it’s important to know what to look for and how to protect yourself and your family when severe weather strikes.
Some people think that tornados don’t happen in South Dakota, but if you’ve listened to the news lately, you know that’s not the case. A tornado touched down just a few weeks ago by Pactola reservoir in the Black Hills, another touched down yesterday near Canton in the eastern part of the state.
Susan Sanders is with the National Weather Service in Rapid City.
“For the entire state there’s typically twenty-five to thirty tornados a year. Recent ten years – the strongest tornado we’ve had was the EF-4 tornado up by Bowdle in May of 2010, and an EF-4 tornado means that the winds were as strong as two-hundred miles an hour,” says Sanders.
Tornados can develop quickly and Sanders says to be aware of weather conditions by getting frequent updates and keeping an eye out for spinning or lowering clouds.
She says underpasses and trees do not offer protection.
Instead, officials say to get out of the vehicle and lie flat in a nearby ditch or gully.
Alexa White with Pennington County Emergency Management says the safest place to be during a tornado is indoors – in areas below ground, like a basement.
“You want to seek shelter in a place that has a lot of structural support like a stairwell, a small bathroom, a closet - you don’t want to be near windows,” says White.
White says to take cover if tornado watches or warnings are in effect.
“Everybody always wants to get the best picture so they can put it on Facebook or Twitter but the direction of a tornado can change at any time and of course as it moves quickly that direction may be coming towards you,” says White.
Although thunderstorms are forecasted for many parts of South Dakota for the weekend, weather officials say most are not expected to be severe.