Violent Winds Leave Sioux Falls Residents Cleaning Up Debris

I have a feeling that a lot, and I mean a lot, of people woke up on Tuesday morning, July 29, angry at Mother Nature, because Lord knows she's been angry with us so far this summer.

The Heat Dome that has been camped out over South Dakota and the Sioux Empire the past few days has wreaked havoc yet again.

On Monday night, July 28, it was in the form of tornadic activity in central and south central South Dakota during the late afternoon and early evening hours. As the storm continued to track east, it brought extremely gusty winds to parts of the Sioux Empire.

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Mother Nature's destructive power began to be felt here in the Sioux Falls area around 8:30 on Monday night, as straight-line winds came out of nowhere to rip through western Sioux Falls and other regions of the city.

Mother Nature's fury was on full display, as you can see by some of the images in these pictures.

Downed trees and branches, fences, light poles, and various other debris were a recurring theme in many parts of the city.

Wind gusts were reported as high as 66 mph at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport last night, and much higher in other cases throughout Sioux Falls and the surrounding area.

Where I live in western Sioux Falls, out near the Tea/Ellis Road area, wind speeds reached between 70 and 80 mph at times.

Mother Nature did a number on countless trees, fences, trampolines, pieces of lawn furniture, pretty much anything that was welded to the ground.

I'm pretty sure some of my lawn furniture is now residing in the Lake Okoboji area in Iowa this morning. If you see an unidentified outdoor loveseat and sectional sofa in your yard, please give it my love, and tell it that I miss it.

Around 9:00 PM on Monday, Xcel Energy reported that over 3900 of its customers were without power due to downed power lines and other storm-related factors.

As Monday night's storm progressed into areas of northwestern Iowa, wind speeds were reported to be as high as 90 to 100 mph!! That's beyond scary! We should all consider ourselves fortunate that no one was seriously injured as a result of Monday night's destructive weather.

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When it comes to Mother Nature's fury, it never ceases to amaze me the kind of sheer destructive power extremely high winds possess. Some of these pictures do a great job of illustrating just that. Established, mature trees, snapped in half as if they were just mere twigs!

One thing is for certain: vinyl privacy fences and straight-line winds do not play well together! So many vinyl and wood privacy fences are lying on their sides this morning throughout Sioux Falls and the region.

I don't know who will be busier over the next few days: insurance adjusters, or lawn care, and tree removal companies.

The noise of chainsaws running will definitely be a common sound heard in several neighborhoods over the next few days as residents throughout the city and the region begin the long job of cleanup!

Good luck and stay safe, everyone! Hopefully, round two isn't coming anytime soon!