PHOTOS: More Than Ten Semi-Trucks Blown Over by South Dakota Winds

Windy days are not unusual in South Dakota. Most days you'll see the wind blowing at least ten miles per hour. This week has been different.

The South Dakota Highway Patrol tweeted out photos of a semi-truck that tipped over on Thursday during intense winds that have been howling across the state. They also reported that more than ten semis had been toppled by the insanely strong winds.

The Highway Patrol also reported that winds in the western and central portions of the state were gusting at up to 70 miles per hour.

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According to climate data from South Dakota State University, The strongest wind gust recorded in Minnehaha County yesterday, November 11, 2021, was 41 miles per hour. The strongest gust in the state was recorded by their station in Todd County, which registered a peak wind of 66 miles per hour.

In Sioux Falls, the National Weather Service registered the highest sustained wind speed of 35 mph, which is bananas compared to even our very normal daily 15 mph wind. The stiffest gust in the city was 48 mph. The average wind speed for the entire day was 19 miles per hour.

If you compare that with how it was on Tuesday you might find it hard to believe it was in the same place. The National Weather Service Climatological Report for November 9 registered the highest sustained wind of only 13 miles per hour and a peak gust of 17. That was a bit windier than I remember. But the average wind speed was only 7.3 miles per hour.