Most of a Little Town in South Dakota Just Survived 130 MPH Wind Gusts

Highmore, South Dakota, population 647 according to the 2024 census, looks like the classic, tiny American farming community. There are all of two notable facts in the Wiki entry for the wee burg – one is that it was named for its ‘lofty altitude.’ No further explanation for that is available other than a footnote referencing a 1908 railway guide. And that there’s been a local post office in operation since 1882. Hardy souls those early folks in the high plains.

Had to be tough.

And I’m pretty sure it still is if the town has remained at its close-knit size.

As of early yesterday morning, Highmore is going to have another factoid to add to its brag list, one they probably could have done without.

They were hit with one of the highest wind gusts ever recorded in the continental United States (second highest in SD history), as a result of a tight, vicious, long track thunderstorm that rolled through the town.

One gust was clocked at 131 mph. For reference in our hurricane frame of mind, that’s a Cat 3. If you think Fujita-scale tornado, it’s a high-end EF2.

The South Dakota Mesonet station at Highmore has reported winds of 76 gusting to 131 mph at 6:25 am. NWS has issued a Civil Emergency Message for the area. https://t.co/SWdEBPXsud pic.twitter.com/WofSvWUnF9

— South Dakota Mesonet (@SDMesonet) June 29, 2026

But this was a straight-line wind event in a nasty little thunderstorm cell. Sustained winds were in the neighborhood of 76 mph.

It was howling.

A devastating windstorm ripped through central South Dakota on the morning of June 29.

According to the South Dakota State University Mesonet, at 6:25 a.m. Monday, wind gusts were reported at 131 miles per hour, with the wind speed at 76 miles per hour. Rainfall totaled 1.64 inches.

And didn’t they tear that town up?

Holy smokes.

Miracle of miracles, nobody has reported any injuries to date.

…Lauren Schwedhelm, a resident of Highmore, said there is significant damage to the community.

“Some places around have significant damage, with sheds completely knocked down while others just have trees down. Almost all of the power lines are down. A lot more people have it way worse than I do at my home. There are some folks that have lost animals, but I have not heard of anyone in the community being injured,” she said.

The wind reports were totally insane.

Other reported wind and damage reports include:

112 mph wind gust with power lines down at 6:34 am near Ree Heights.

74 mph wind gust at 6:45 am at Miller.

70 mph wind gust with reports of a garage lost and damage to outbuilding at 6:49 am near Polo.

84 mph wind gust at 6:58 am 5 miles east of Orient.

80 mph wind gust at 7:05 am 6 miles south of Rockham.

84 mph wind gust at 7:21 am 5 miles northwest of Redfield

Tornadoes were reported near Andover at 8:01 am and Pierpont at 8:13 am

I had to be terrifying, but it looks as if the National Weather Service and local stations had everything on the ball to keep the alerts constant and minimize loss as much as they could.

This local TV station meteorologist does a terrific job explaining how a lone, isolated storm traveled hundreds of miles across Nebraska into South Dakota and became the wind monster.

 

Grain elevators, sheds, and other structures took a whale of a beating, which is just devastating in a farming community.

Preliminary wind estimates of more than 130 mph are believed to have caused this storm damage in Highmore, South Dakota.

Video courtesy AeroAg Drone Services LLC#highmore #storm #damage #southdakota #severe pic.twitter.com/MDMsCo4eNn

— Meteorologist Matthew Huddleston (@MatthewHWx) June 29, 2026

Over nine hours on the ground in South Dakota, just tearing through things.

 

Interestingly, one of South Dakota’s first wind farms is in Highmore. Those turbine towers didn’t fare so well during the brutal assault, either.

 

A still photo of the damage is gobsmacking.

Unbelievable damage to a wind farm near Highmore, South Dakota after this morning’s storm. #sdwx pic.twitter.com/Uucyapxfej

— Jakob McMillin (@McMillinWx) June 29, 2026

Think of all the toxic crap pouring out of those turbines. And they are supposed to be ‘rated’ for what I’m assuming are microbursts of 144- 161 mph.

DEPENDS WHAT YOUR DEFINITION OF ‘MPH’ IS, I GUESS

…With more than 20 of the 27 turbines affected, the 40.5 MW facility faces substantial downtime while assessments, repairs, or replacements are carried out. Exact numbers, causes of individual failures (tower buckling, blade detachment, etc.), and repair timelines are not yet available from the owner.Wind turbines are engineered to withstand high winds (typically up to 3-second gusts of 144–161 mph per IEC standards, with some models rated higher), but the 131 mph straight-line winds recorded today represent an extreme event capable of causing major structural damage.

Context

This incident highlights the vulnerability of wind infrastructure to rare but intense straight-line wind events, even as wind power continues to expand in South Dakota. The state currently has thousands of megawatts of installed wind capacity across multiple projects.

This should be a warning to wind advocates in areas prone to actual ‘wind events,’ but you can’t argue with cultists.

These are “green energy” windmills in Highmore, SD that got destroyed by 130+mph winds today. Snapped like twigs. Total loss.

Virginia Beach, this is what’s coming next hurricane or tropical storm https://t.co/eSGxQmDsYh pic.twitter.com/4bdVNCuGbh

— NOVA Campaigns (@NoVA_Campaigns) June 30, 2026

Meanwhile, it’s cleanup time in little Highmore.

And adversity is when the best of America always shines. Folks are turning to their neighbors, ‘What do you need? What can I do?‘ 

Even as their own lives lay in pieces around them.

Spent day in Highmore. 131 mph winds is insane. But the community is so strong. I talked to one bar owner who has only had bar for a month – now damaged. But in true SD fashion, they still gave back, offering burgers and water to those cleaning up around town. Resilience. pic.twitter.com/QZVtz4EVkc

— sam tastad (@samtastad) June 30, 2026

Speaking of shining, somehow the roof of the local Catholic church, St. Mary’s, managed to hold on, only losing a strip right off the peak. We had something exactly like that happen to our house during Hurricane Sally.

We found it when I went into the attic for some reason and realized I could see without a flashlight. I looked up, and there was a twelve-foot-long gash where the roof vent had been. We always thought it had been an act of divine intervention that somehow, through God’s grace, no water ever came through that slash, and the rain had stopped. It never rained again until after Major Dad, and I got it tarped, either.

But the same sort of incredible and wonderful divine intervention in Highmore actually looks divine.

One of the most incredible storm damage pictures I’ve ever seen happened this morning in South Dakota. A 131 mph wind gust in the city of Highmore split the roof of the Catholic Church perfectly illuminating the crucifix. This is not AI, it’s been confirmed real by locals. Truly… pic.twitter.com/DS5oJfxeis

— Matt Devitt (@MattDevittWX) June 29, 2026

Sometimes it’s best not to ask how or why; just bask in the warmth, knowing that, with no injuries or deaths, there was, for sure, someone watching over Highmore.

All our best to those folks in SD.

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