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Hailstorm at EROS, Sioux Falls, SD, USA

Agriculture  / 
Natural Disasters
  1. Hailstorm at EROS, Sioux Falls, SD, USA
Description

These images show the location of the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, about 10 miles north of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. On Sunday, July 13, 1997, an unusually severe hailstorm blasted through the area, missing Sioux Falls but hitting EROS head-on. The storm pounded EROS with 20 minutes of baseball- to softball-sized hail. Landsat 5 passed overhead three days later and documented the aftermath.

Healthy crops normally surround Sioux Falls. The healthy crops appear bright red because red represents the near-infrared light (that human eyes can’t see) that is highly reflected by healthy vegetation. Most of the crops grown in this area are soybeans and corn. Some of those fields turned gray in the 1997 image, where the hailstorm converted the cropland into bare soil. The conversion was temporary, however, as the Landsat 5 image from 1998 demonstrates. The cropland is back to the expected red, indicating healthy crops.

View Related Imagery & Stories Download Hailstorm at EROS, Sioux Falls, SD, USA Card

Location

July 27, 1995, Landsat 5 (path/row 29/30) — Before the hailstorm, near Sioux Falls, SD, USA

July 27, 1995, Landsat 5 (path/row 29/30) — Before the hailstorm, near Sioux Falls, SD, USA

July 16, 1997, Landsat 5 (path/row 29/30) — Hailstorm damage, near Sioux Falls, SD, USA

July 16, 1997, Landsat 5 (path/row 29/30) — Hailstorm damage, near Sioux Falls, SD, USA

July 19, 1998, Landsat 5 (path/row 29/30) — One year after the hailstorm, near Sioux Falls, SD, USA

July 19, 1998, Landsat 5 (path/row 29/30) — One year after the hailstorm, near Sioux Falls, SD, USA

July 27, 1995, Landsat 5 (path/row 29/30) — Before the hailstorm, near Sioux Falls, SD, USA
July 16, 1997, Landsat 5 (path/row 29/30) — Hailstorm damage, near Sioux Falls, SD, USA
July 19, 1998, Landsat 5 (path/row 29/30) — One year after the hailstorm, near Sioux Falls, SD, USA

Hailstorm at EROS, Sioux Falls, SD, USA Additional Imagery & Stories

The Storm's Cost
The Storm's Cost

The storm cost EROS over $1.2 million in damage. Vehicles were smashed, branches broken, foliage shredded, windows broken, and ground pockmarked. The ...

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