The National Weather Service reports that the tornado that touched down in Burke on Tuesday night peaked at 110 mph, making it an EF-1 tornado.
Todd Heitkamp is with the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls. He says the storm indicated a Severe Thunderstorm Warning because of heavy straight-line winds near the tornado activity.
“With this storm here, there was no characteristics, no signatures whatsoever that would show the forecasters that it was producing a tornado or that it could produce a tornado," says Heitkamp. "When you’re talking about these types of winds, when you have 90 - 100 mph straight-line winds and then a tornado that produces winds of 100 – 110, there’s not much difference between that wind speed. The only difference is that one’s rotating and ones not.”
The tornado caused substantial damage to many businesses and homes, as well as the local school and courthouse.
Two injuries were reported in the wake of the storm.