Locals feared a tornado in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Saturday, July 25, amid a warning for severe thunderstorms in the area. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a warning till 9:30pm CDT or 10:30pm ET. They noted that wind speeds could reach up to 70mph at this time.
“Severe Thunderstorm Warning continues for Sioux Center IA, Hawarden IA and Beresford SD until 9:30 PM CDT. This storm will contain wind gusts to 70 MPH!,” NWS shared, along with a map of the areas to be impacted.
Meanwhile, scary videos of the tornado were shared online.
Sioux Falls: Scary videos of storm amid tornado fears
One person on Facebook shared a video of the massive storm, and asked if it was a ‘tornado’.
{{/usCountry}}One person on Facebook shared a video of the massive storm, and asked if it was a ‘tornado’.
{{/usCountry}}Another shared a video where strong winds were blowing and there appeared to be rain as well.
“As long as there's NO tornados,” they wrote.
A timelapse video also showed the storm roll into Sioux Falls.
More visuals of the weather from Sioux Falls were also shared online. “Weather Update from Harmodon Park,” one wrote, sharing visuals of the cloud.
Another person shared a panorama image of the storm and wrote “Neighbors. What's the weather report?”.
Notably, despite fears, there's no confirmation of a tornado forming in the Sioux Falls area.
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Sioux Falls weather update
While there was no confirmed tornado, the wind speeds were massively high and the same was confirmed by several weather watchers on social media. A storm chaser shared a map on X and wrote “Confirmed winds over 80mph in the Sioux Falls area, heading east along MN/IA border.”
Another page providing weather updates added “A dangerous line of severe storms is slamming the Sioux Falls, SD metro right now, with a 72 MPH wind gust just measured at the airport. This destructive line is pushing east into southwest Minnesota and northwest Iowa. Seek shelter indoors immediately!”.
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Meanwhile, NWS Sioux Falls noted “We're seeing widespread 60 to 70 mph winds moving through the Sioux Falls area at 840pm.”
Some people complained of damage after the strong winds at Sioux Falls. “I got some fence damage also. That wind was intense,” one person noted. Another added “lots of branches down around Terry Redlin neighborhood.” Yet another noted “Little fence damage, could have been worse!”.