VERMILLION/WINNER, S.D. (KELO) — A severe thunderstorm made its way through KELOLAND last night, hitting the communities of Winner and Vermillion especially hard.
The thunderstorm made its way through Winner at about 7:40 p.m. High winds and heavy rain made visibility low.
The storm brought golf ball sized hail, and the wind was so strong that it almost brought down power lines, damaged the screen at the drive-in theater, drove two by fours into a building and ripped off part of the roof at the Tripp County Veterans Memorial.
Then, the rain rolled through Vermillion.
“At the time, we were awake and packing for a trip, and I saw the lightning, and I had seen the warning coming from Winner. So, I ran outside to take care of some cars and such, and I barely made it in because the wind came in so fast,” Ericka Schapekahm said.
In town, trees were uprooted, shingles and siding were ripped from this apartment complex and a tree fell onto this building.
There was also plenty of damage in the town’s historic district.
“A lot of trees, down, trees split in two, up the street a ways a branch went through a car back window. The neighbors and I are conversing about all the damage. They have trees completely uprooted. I’m not sure how strong the wind was, but it was pretty strong,” Cindy Lias said
Homeowners have been making progress cleaning up trees from their yards, but it will take time to clear some bigger branches.
“We’ll have to find a tree service because a lot of the branches are too big for us to take care of,” Lias said.
One of the homeowners we talked with says it could take up to two weeks to clear trees from their property.
