National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce
  Map of tornado track from eastern Hand County, to near Wolsey in Beadle County.  Click map to enlarge.  Damage photos from this area located below. Continue
to the East

 

The following photos were taken by Todd Heitkamp, Warning Coordination Meteorologist at NWS Sioux Falls, and Greg Harmon, Meteorologist-in-Charge at NWS Sioux Falls, SD.   Click on any of the images for a larger view.

 


Click image to enlarge. This is one of five metal trusses that were toppled by the tornado. The location is approximately five miles southeast of Wessington, SD. Click image to enlarge.
This aerial view shows both the toppled towers and the track of the tornado. Note the toppled towers pointing to different directions and the scouring marks on the ground, which serve as an indicator of the tornado’s path.

Click image to enlarge.
This pick-up was rolled a total of 25 yards from its original location. This damage was approximately thee miles southwest of Wolsey, SD.
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This pick-up was rolled end over end a total of 50 yards before coming to rest. This damage was also approximately three miles southwest of Wolsey, SD.

Click image to enlarge.
This aerial view shows very well the path of the strengthening tornado.
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This pick-up was rolled into this tree and ended up being wrapped around it. This was the site of the F3 damage. The limited debarking of the tree, along with many other smaller branches remaining attached to the tree, helped in determining the Fujita scale rating. This was approximately 2.5 miles south-southwest of Wolsey, SD.

Click image to enlarge.
This is a closer view of the pick-up and the tree. You can see the debarking of the tree, which served as an indicator of where the pick-up impacted the tree.   Again, this was approximately 2.5 miles south-southwest of Wolsey, SD.
Click image to enlarge.
This aerial view shows the track of the F3 tornado. This was the location of where damage indicated the winds reached up to 200 mph.