South Dakota is marking Severe Weather Awareness Week this week. For one South Dakota town, the five days are taking on a new meaning….
Melissa Mebius is mayor of Wessington Springs. The southeast side of her town was sliced open last June 18th by an E-F-two tornado packing winds estimated by the National Weather Service of over 120 miles an hour. As the storm approached officials were reporting people were not taking shelter….
Mebius believes her community’s attitude toward severe weather has changed…
She says Wessington Springs has made impressive progress in the 10 months since the storm…
The National Weather Service officially confirmed 10 tornadoes on June 18th within the confines of Jerauld County, including an E-F-four tornado that lasted 11 miles and damaged a farm southwest of Alpena. Twisters also struck a farm southwest of Wessington Springs and the Spring Valley Hutterite Colony.