South Dakota Hail Storms Were Some of the Worst in Years

Recent hail storms on both sides of South Dakota were some of the worst in years, according to meteorologists and insurance officials.

A Saturday night storm caused heavy damage to trees, homes and cars in Sioux Falls, and was one of the worst hail storms to hit the state’s largest city in the past decade, according to the National Weather Service. Some hail was the size of tennis balls.

Kevin Rost, sales manager at a local auto dealership, told the Argus Leader that as many as 900 vehicles on his lot were damaged.

Storm damage in the city is still being calculated. Insurance agency president Dick Applequist said the last time he saw as much damage after a hail storm was in June 2001 when “60 percent of the houses needed to be reroofed.”

A storm with hail the size of baseballs hit Rapid City on Friday. Insurance agent Gene Hufford told KOTA-TV that it was the worst hailstorm he has seen in his career.

“I’m estimating it’s going to be in the multiple of millions of dollars’ worth of claims just out of my agency alone,” he said.