The 2003 South Dakota tornado outbreak, known locally as "Tornado Tuesday", was a

tornado outbreak __NOTOC__ A tornado outbreak is the occurrence of multiple tornadoes spawned by the same synoptic scale weather system. The number of tornadoes required to qualify as an outbreak typically are at least six to ten, with at least two rotational l ...

that occurred in the southeastern and east central part of

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

in the United States on June 24, 2003. At the time, this outbreak tied a United States record for the most tornado touchdowns in a single day for one state, with 67. The event was part of a larger outbreak that produced 125 tornadoes. However this record was surpassed by a

in Kansas on May 23, 2008, when 73 tornadoes hit the state, including two that started in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. It was also the largest tornado outbreak ever recorded in the astronomical summer period that was not related to a tropical cyclone.

Confirmed tornadoes

Manchester, South Dakota

The most powerful tornado was located around

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Kingsbury County Kingsbury County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,187. Its county seat is De Smet. The county was created in 1873, and was organized in 1880. It was named for brothers George W. and T. ...

and was rated an F4 on the

Fujita scale The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is determ ...

. In the National Weather Service survey released shortly after the tornado, winds were estimated to be up to 260 miles per hour.NOAA National Weather Service, Sioux Falls, South Dakot
"Record Pressure Drop Recorded with Manchester Tornado"
Retrieved on 2009-10-13. There, every single structure was either heavily damaged or destroyed. Trees were debarked and all three homes were swept away. No fatalities were reported with this tornado, but at least 4 people were injured by the storm. Manchester was never rebuilt and is now a "

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

" with some farm buildings but otherwise no houses or stores. Researchers had placed several sensors all across the area that was hit by the tornado. The twister passed right over one of the sensors which recorded a 100 millibar pressure drop. One film shot showed the tornado passing directly over a camera placed and buried on the ground.

Other tornadoes

Most tornadoes across South Dakota during that day were weak F0's and F1's; however, many caused extensive damage to farms and crops. One tornado tore through the Turner County Fairgrounds in

Parker Parker may refer to: Persons * Parker (given name) * Parker (surname) Places Place names in the United States *Parker, Arizona *Parker, Colorado * Parker, Florida * Parker, Idaho * Parker, Kansas * Parker, Missouri * Parker, North Carolina *Park ...

, destroying many structures at the site. In

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, several tornadoes touched down near the Buffalo Lake area with one of the storms causing extensive damage to the town. No tornado-related fatalities were reported during the entire day; however, tornadoes on June 22 and 23 killed two people in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

. During a four-day period from June 21 to June 24, the entire area from

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

to Minnesota was hit by a total of 125 tornadoes including 2 F4s.

References

External links

Southeastern South Dakota tornado tracks (NWS Sioux Falls)

{{DEFAULTSORT:2003-06-24 South Dakota Tornado Outbreak F4 tornadoes by date

06-24 South Dakota Tornadoes in South Dakota Tornado, 06-24 06-24 Tornado Tornado, South Dakota, 24

Confirmed tornadoes

Manchester, South Dakota

Other tornadoes

See also

References

External links