| Tornado outbreak of June 23, 2002 | |
| Type: | Tornado Outbreak |
| Active: | June 23, 2002 |
| Tornadoes: | 8 |
| Fujitascale: | F4 |
| Tornado Duration: | 94 minutes |
| Casualties: | None |
| Damages: | ~$1 million (2002 USD) |
| Areas Affected: | The Dakotas |
| Enhanced: | no |
| Partof: | tornado outbreaks of 2002 |
A small but intense tornado outbreak occurred predominantly over McPherson and Brown County, South Dakota on June 23, 2002. A supercell thunderstorm produced six tornadoes in 72 minutes within the two counties. Two of the tornadoes were rated F3 and F4 respectively, and caused considerable damage to several homes and farms. Two other tornadoes occurred in North Dakota during the same time. The outbreak in Brown County was documented by a group of storm chasers and was featured on an episode of The Weather Channel's Storm Stories.
The area hit by the outbreak was in a drought; in the past three months, the area had only received four inches of rain. On June 23, a triple point was set up across eastern South Dakota, setting the stage for a powerful supercell to form.[1]
| Location | County / Parish | State | Start Coord. | Time (UTC) | Path length | Max width | Summary | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bgcolor=# | F0 | NE of Leola | McPherson | SD | 00:20–00:22 | 0.2miles | 50yd | A brief tornado caused no damage.[2] | |
| bgcolor=# | F1 | NE of Leola to NW of Barnard | McPherson, Brown | SD | 00:32–00:43 | 5miles | 500yd | A barn was destroyed, a farmhouse was damaged, and many trees were downed in McPherson County. No damage was recorded in Brown County.[3] | |
| bgcolor=# | F0 | NW of Barnard | Brown | SD | 00:43–00:45 | 0.3miles | 50yd | This tornado touched down as the previous tornado dissipated. No damage was reported.[4] | |
| bgcolor=# | F3 | W of Barnard to SE of Barnard | Brown | SD | 00:53–01:23 | 10miles | 900yd | Two farmhouses sustained extensive damage, one of which lost its garage and most of its roof. Several farm buildings and equipment were heavily damaged, and a pickup truck was tossed 100yd into a grove of trees, totaling it. High-tension power lines and a support tower were downed, and numerous trees were downed, some of which were snapped off just above the base and/or debarked.[5] | |
| bgcolor=# | F0 | N of Bismarck | Burleigh | ND | 00:55 | 2miles | 40yd | A brief tornado over open country caused no damage.[6] | |
| bgcolor=# | F4 | SE of Barnard to NE of Barnard | Brown | SD | 01:24–01:55 | 9miles | 900yd | This violent tornado demolished two unoccupied homes and several outbuildings, damaged a farmhouse and several more outbuildings, and heavily damaged or destroyed farm equipment. Many trees were downed.[7] | |
| bgcolor=# | F0 | E of Barnard | Brown | SD | 01:30–01:32 | 0.1miles | 50yd | This brief satellite tornado of the F4 tornado caused no damage.[8] | |
| bgcolor=# | F1 | SW of Velva | Ward, McHenry | ND | 01:34–01:54 | 2miles | 50yd | Several homes had shingles blown off, and several trees were uprooted.[9] | |
Brown County supercell research