Overview

• The National Weather Service issued a Particularly Dangerous Situation tornado warning for Codington County before the twister touched down west of Watertown.
• Emergency crews and storm chasers report multiple homes and outbuildings demolished along the tornado’s southeast path.
• Search teams inspecting wreckage confirmed no occupants were inside the destroyed structures.
• Viral videos and on-site footage captured the tornado’s powerful funnel and hail up to one inch in diameter.
• Authorities attribute the absence of injuries to the late-afternoon warning and swift sheltering actions by residents.