Tornadoes touch down near Bridgewater, Wall Lake, and Centerville, South Dakota

At least three tornadoes were reported across McCook, Minnehaha, and Lincoln counties in southeastern South Dakota on May 31, 2026.

At least three tornadoes touched down across southeastern South Dakota on May 31, according to preliminary Local Storm Reports issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) in Sioux Falls.

A tornado was observed at 20:54 CDT approximately 5 km (3 miles) northeast of Centerville, Lincoln County. The report was provided by a storm chaser who observed the tornado through a live video feed.

Earlier, at 20:11 CDT, an NWS employee reported a radar-confirmed tornado about 6 km (4 miles) west of Wall Lake in Minnehaha County.

Another tornado was reported at 18:07 CDT near Bridgewater in McCook County, where a storm chaser observed a tornado kicking up dust from the ground.

Widespread hail measuring up to 2.5 cm (1 inch) was also reported across southeastern South Dakota.

References:

¹ Preliminary Local Storm Report – NWS – May 31, 2026

Feature image credit: Eric Klindt

Rishav Kothari

I am an Assistant Editor and Severe Weather & Science Journalist at The Watchers, specializing in real-time severe weather coverage, geophysical event reporting, and research-driven scientific analysis. You can reach me at rishav(at)watchers(.)news.

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