Tornadoes Roar Through the Dakotas to End the Weekend

It felt more like the steamy summer months than the early fall across the Dakotas on Sunday after a rare tornadic outbreak. Here is a look at the strange weather that roared through the northern Plains to bring the weekend to a close.

Tornadic Activity Spins Up in the Dakotas on Sunday

A cluster of tornadoes spun up on Sunday afternoon across central North Dakota and down into South Dakota. In addition to the tornadic activity, flooding rainfall poured down on the city of Bismarck, North Dakota.

The action fired up early Sunday afternoon when a tornado was confirmed to the east of Mobridge, South Dakota. This twister flipped an SUV and a semi truck while also bringing down power lines. The Walworth County Emergency Management agency said that there were no reported injuries.

Tornadoes were reported in the North Dakota counties of Emmons, Burleigh, Sheridan, McLean, and McHenry throughout the afternoon and evening hours. The National Weather Service (NWS) office fielded 20 tornado reports in a period of six hours.

While there have been no reports of injuries or fatalities as a result of the cluster of twisters, numerous instances of damage have been confirmed. The NWS will continue to survey the damage in an effort to confirm the total number of tornadoes, their tracks, and the EF-scale ratings.

Flooding Rainfall Slams Parts of the Dakotas

The tornadoes came to life as part of a zone of severe thunderstorms across the northern Plains. North Dakota's capital city of Bismarck took the brunt of the heavy rain, stranding motorists in their vehicles as roadways flooded. Bismarck Municipal Airport recorded nearly 2 inches of rain in less than an hour.

The total amount of rain recorded in Bismarck on Sunday came in at 2.44 inches. This was good enough to take the lead as the wettest September day in the city in 31 years. The rainfall total also smashed the historical average of 1.72 inches for the month.

Officials in the community of Jamestown, North Dakota, also had to close streets on Sunday due to the flooding. Jamestown is located approximately halfway between the cities of Bismarck and Fargo.