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Locally Heavy Rainfall for the Carolinas; Thunderstorms and Fire Weather Concerns for Intermountain West

Heavy rainfall from scattered thunderstorms is expected across the Southwest, Intermountain West, and Plains. Isolated dry thunderstorms may initiate additional fires across the west. The coastal Carolinas may experience flash floods in the coming days due to repeated thunderstorms. Additionally, a wave of intense summer heat will hit the Southern Plains and central Gulf Coast States this week. Read More >

Overview

A potent cold front swept through the region on the late afternoon and evening of Wednesday, January 13th, 2021. Behind the front, northwesterly winds became very strong. Wednesday night through Thursday night, winds across the area were sustained at 35 to 50 mph, with gusts of 60 to more than 80 mph. In Harding County, a gust of 93 mph was measured with the frontal passage! Winds finally diminished Friday morning. Numerous rollovers were reported during this long duration high wind event, especially along I-90 across western South Dakota. Many homes and businesses sustained property damage, and several wind driven grass fires produced additional damage.

The image to the right shows the wind observations at the NWS office near downtown Rapid City for the duration of the high wind event.
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NWS Rapid City Wind Observations
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