HUDSON At least no one was hurt.
Thats what Amanda Lounsbery said as she stepped over toppled tree limbs littering her yard and tripped over flattened soybeans while surveying damage in one of her fields. Its what her neighbors repeated as they cleared trees from streets.
Winds over 90 miles per hour on Monday night raged through Hudson, said Lincoln County Emergency Manager Harold Timmerman. The town of 320 people is in southeastern South Dakota near the Iowa border.
The storm was part of a larger system. Hail up to 1.75 inches in diameter was reported in south-central South Dakota, along with atornadonear Dixon in Gregory County earlier in the day and numerous reports of damaging wind, according to theSioux Falls office of the National Weather Service. Those reports came one day after a tornadodestroyed a farmhouseand several outbuildings near Henry in northeastern South Dakota.
Lounsberys sons, who are volunteer firefighters, served as spotters during the storm and said they saw a funnel west of town. According to the NWS, no tornadoes touched down near Hudson. The damage was caused by straight-line winds from a downburst, which is when wind in a storm system is forced downward and spreads outward once it hits the ground.
Lounsbery hadnt seen her husband in nearly 24 hours, since hes a volunteer firefighter and was focused on ensuring everyones safety. The fire department knocked on every houses door after the storm passed Monday night. Dozens of South Dakotans drove from nearby towns and from as far away as Vermillion and Watertown to help with recovery.
Gov. Larry Rhoden surveyed the damage Tuesday afternoon and offered up to 30 South Dakota prison inmates to Hudson officials to help with cleanup. But that might not be necessary, given the outpouring of support and assistance from neighboring communities, he added. Public Safety Secretary Bob Perry said local officials havent requested state assistance yet.
Rhoden added that he doesnt plan to call in the South Dakota National Guard and isnt sure if the damage calls for a federal disaster declaration.
Hudson Mayor Steve Wickre said the support among neighbors showcases whats best about Hudson: its people and their resiliency.
Officials dont know the financial impact of the damage yet. They said a nursing home was evacuated due to a power outage.
Lounsbery and many of her neighbors power was still out as of 6 p.m. Tuesday. Her garage was caved in, and pieces of her neighbors shed roof landed in her soybean field across from her house just outside of town. Her toppled grain bin carved a path into another field, where it sat split into two pieces.
I was really upset last night, Lounsbery said, but now I realize my people are OK. Well be OK.
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