May 30, 1998: The Tornado That Changed Spencer, South Dakota Forever

It started as a typical Saturday in May, but by the end of the day, May 30, 1998, would go down in history as the day one of the most devastating tornadoes ripped through a South Dakota town.

Spencer, South Dakota, is a small town about 50 miles west of Sioux Falls, just off Interstate 90. On the evening of May 30, 1998, it was nearly wiped off the map by a giant twister.

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The Tornado That Devastated Spencer, South Dakota

Keep Scrolling to See the Aftermath of the 1998 Spencer, SD Tornado

That day in May 1998 was a stormy day across the upper plains. Severe storms broke out in Montana just after noon that day. The system moved east into South Dakota, dropping damaging and dangerous hail across the middle of the state.

As day turned into evening, supercells dropped several tornadoes in eastern South Dakota. Between *:00 and 9:00 PM, twister churned up the South Dakota countryside. Then at 8:37, a giant, dust-cloaked tornado tore through tiny Spencer, South Dakota.

MORE: Tornado Tuesday - Remembering the Day Dozens Of Twisters Ripped Through South Dakota

Six Lives Lost and a Town Changed Forever

The F4 tornado nearly destroyed the small town just east of Mitchell after clobbering several farmsteads on its way. The hellish vortex ripped a 1900-foot-wide path through Spencer for six minutes. Winds from the twister were estimated to be between 207 and 260 miles per hour.

Six people died, and a third of the town's residents were injured. Five of the dead were in a building that collapsed. Almost all of the town's buildings were destroyed. Damage was estimated to be around 18 million dollars (in 1998 money).

As it left town, the tornado continued southeast through farmland and ended near I-90.

The Spencer tornado was one of five produced by the same supercell storm in just over an hour that night.

The Spencer, SD 1998 Tornado, according to the National Weather Service:

• 6 Dead
• More than one-third of the town's 320 residents were injured
• Most of the town's 190 buildings were destroyed
• Damage was estimated at $18 million

Watch: Rare Footage from the 1998 Spencer Tornado

Before the storm, Spencer, South Dakota, had 315 people living there, afterward, it dropped by half. In 2020 the the population was 136.