Derecho caused widespread damage across South Dakota, mostly spared Garretson
by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
On Thursday, May 12, the state of South Dakota was pummeled by a derecho as it traveled across the plains, producing a wall of dust, tornados, and damage across much of the south central and eastern part of the state. Despite experiencing some loss of electricity, felled trees, and several lost shingles, the Garretson area was spared a major amount of the damage from the storm.
A derecho is a wind storm that produces straight line winds in excess of 58 miles per hour and exceeds a length of 240 miles, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). It is often fast-moving, and usually develops in hot, humid conditions such as those found last week.
The May 12 derecho impacted Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota, moving east-northeast across the state at 50-70 mph. Winds measured in the derecho ranged from 75 mph to gusts of 105 mph, and traveled through 28 South Dakota counties, causing Governor Kristi Noem to declare a state of emergency.
The hurricane-force winds brought a wall of dust, called a haboob, at one point eliminating visibility to the point of complete darkness and causing widespread damage.
Seven tornadoes were confirmed as of Tuesday, including in Governor Noem's hometown of Castlewood, which saw its school heavily damaged. The other tornadoes were in Deuel, Codington, and Day Counties in South Dakota, and Traverse County in Minnesota.
The storm hit the Sioux Falls area at rush hour, and caught many people in their vehicles attempting to travel home from work or school. Farmers were in their fields, or in sheds or barns doing chores. A Minnesota man lost his life when the grain bin he was sheltering in was hit.
Two South Dakotans lost their lives during the storm. Both were in vehicles at the time. One, a 61-year-old woman from Wentworth, SD was traveling home from Sioux Falls with her husband when a piece of wood broke through the glass. The second victim was a Lincoln High School teacher, who died after a tree fell onto her car.
Many experienced close calls, including at Aventara Nursing Home in Salem, SD. Residents had been moved to the center of the building prior to the storm, which took off the roof of its commons. In Castlewood, students had been dismissed for the day and activities called off before the tornado hit the school.
Vehicles were nearly lifted off the ground, with the wind flipping several semis, trailers, and RVs on I-90 and destroying signs between Canova and Canistota.
Garretson resident Heidi Hoffman had pulled into the Palisades Oil parking lot right before the storm hit. A flying 300-400 gallon water tank subsequently damaged her vehicle, which contained Hoffman and her 2-year-old daughter. Other residents told of staying only far enough ahead of the storm to run into the basement from their vehicle as it hit.
Power was lost to over 10,000 South Dakotans as a result of fallen power lines or damaged substations. Xcel Energy, which services Garretson, had over 1200 linemen working to repair the damage across the state and restore power to customers over the weekend.
Much of 3rd Street, portions of the southern Garretson area, and a portion of the northeastern Garretson area were without power for an extended time. Third Street residents saw their power restored around 2:00 p.m. on Friday.
Rae's Greenhouse lost its roof and had panels broken and pushed in from the wind, worrying residents about the business, which is being managed this year by young entrepreneur Adair Hanisch. However, a post on Facebook celebrated the quality of the plants provided by Mensch Greenhouse of Avon, SD, stating that the business would be open on Friday. As of late Saturday morning, the greenhouse looked like it hadn't been impacted at all.
South of Dows Street appeared to be the area where the most roofs were damaged, but residents came together and helped recover shingles or place tarps while homeowners contacted their insurance companies.
"I can’t express this enough how much I love this small town," wrote Caitlyn Doescher on Garretson Living. "The storm last night took out one of my trees and I come home from work to my neighbors cutting it down for me. I appreciate all the love in this community!!! Thank you all so much!"
UPDATE 5/18/22: Minor details have been corrected.
Hoffman's vehicle was hit by a water tank, not cement.
Aventara Nursing Home was spelled incorrectly, and moved residents to the armory after the storm was over. They had been moved to the center of the building and out of the commons just prior to the storm.
An extra zero was accidentally added to 10,000 customers without power.
