Massive tornado damages buildings near Watertown, South Dakota
A powerful tornado touched down west of Watertown, South Dakota on July 27, 2025, destroying multiple structures and creating dramatic visuals.
A massive tornado touched down near Watertown in Codington County on July 27, going viral on social media due to the dramatic visuals.
The tornado has destroyed at least one building and other structures, as seen in visuals recorded by storm chaser Tanner Charles.
The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for the whole of Codington County till 18:30 local time (LT) on July 27. Meanwhile, a tornado warning was issued for Watertown and Krazburg lasting through 19:30 LT.
This is the raw reality of what tornadoes can do – and the situations they leave behind. Right after this, we arrived at a destroyed home and began search and rescue. Thankfully, no one was home. But you never know what you’re walking into. It’s moments like this that remind you… pic.twitter.com/M6tcum65wM
— Tanner Charles (@TannerCharlesMN) July 28, 2025
Visuals shared on social showed a massive rotating funnel tornado, moving through areas west of Watertown creating dramatic visuals that
Charles arrived at the scene after the tornado passed through the area and began search and rescue amid the debris.
“We arrived at a destroyed home and began search and rescue. Thankfully, no one was home. But you never know what you’re walking into. It’s moments like this that remind you how fragile life can be,” said Charles.
I got some crazy videos today – this was northwest of Watertown like 39 minutes ago, this tornado was mean – more soon pic.twitter.com/hFSMbHgvpU
— Michael Marz (@MichaelMarz1) July 27, 2025
Feature image credit: Michael Marz
Rishav Kothari is Editor-in-Chief of The Watchers, where he runs the newsroom and covers earthquakes, volcanoes, severe weather and space weather.
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The videographer identifies himself as Brandon Copic, not Tanner Charles.