After the storm, rebuilding never easy - Daily Republic
In the aftermath of last weekend's Mother's Day tornado that rolled through Delmont, injuring nine people, some residents compared it to what happened in Spencer. Hitting the city at 10:45 a. m. on a Sunday morning, the Delmont tornado is only the second EF-2 or stronger tornado in South Dakota history since 1950 to hit during the morning hours. The other tornado also hit Douglas County on June 25, 1969, when at 11:15 a. m. , two people were injured in an EF-2 tornado. According to the National Severe Storms Laboratory, tornadoes are most common between 4-9 p. m. during tornado season, which is generally during the spring and early summer months. The science behind the Delmont and Wessington Springs tornadoes is similar. Both of them were EF-2 tornadoes that were very close to becoming EF-3 storms. According to the National Weather Service, the Mother's Day tornado in Delmont was longer (more than 17 miles) and wider (400 yards) than in Wessington Springs, which saw a higher peak speed of 135 mph. The two counties in The Daily Republic's coverage area with the most tornadoes since 1950 are Charles Mix and Hutchinson County, both of which have county-wide populations below 10,000, according to the U. S. Census Bureau. Source: www.mitchellrepublic.com
