August Is Vermont's Month For Historic Heat Waves, (Though Not Saying It Will Happen This Year, I Think)

Then peak of summer might be over in August, but
a majority of Vermont/New England's most intense
heat waves have hit in August. 

 July is the hottest month of the year in Vermont, but most of our most intense heat waves seem to hit in August.  

True, arguably the granddaddy of all New England heat waves hit in July, 1911. And New England endured some historic heat this June.

But August is the place to be for extreme heat. So, if you think our current, refreshing spell of weather is the way things will go this month, think again. 

Here are some of the highlights for August Heat:

August, 1918: Some of the coldest weather on record in Vermont hit in the years 1917 and 1918, so I guess it was a relief to see some 100 degree weather in the Green Mountain State. Vernon reached 102 degrees and Cornwall hit 100.

That heat missed northern Vermont. Burlington got to 91 degrees on one day that month on the seventh. August, 1918 was otherwise a chilly, September-ish month. 

THE 1940s

For some reason, the 1940s brought us a series of torrid Augusts. We haven't seen anything like it since. 

August, 1944:  This was an especially intense and brutally long lasting heat wave. Burlington reached 101 degree on August 11 that year. But it was 89 degrees or hotter for an astonishing nine consecutive days from August 9 to 17. 

Because of climate change, August, 1944 is now relegated to the ninth hottest August on record in Burlington. Individual hot days in more recent years might not have been as extreme as 1944. But in the now-hottest Augusts of 2018, 2021, 2016 and 2022,  the heat has been more consistent, with fewer and less chilly cooler breaks.

August, 1947  The temperature in Burlington, Vermont reached 90 degrees ten times on this month. Dry conditions helped daytime temperatures reach such levels. Portland, Maine had only 0.27 inches of rain that August. The drought that late summer and autumn led to the most devastating wildfires in Maine history. Which is another reason to fear hot summers. 

August, 1948: Bellows Falls had six consecutive days in the 90s, peaking at 98 degrees August 24 to 30, which is awfully late in the season to have that many days so hot. Burlington had a four-day streak in the 90s,  

August, 1949: Burlington hit 90 degrees on eight days this month, part of a summer that brought 26 days with 90 degree readings. That's still the record for the most in a single summer.  

OTHER AUGUST HEAT

August 2, 1975 "Hot Saturday" gave us the hottest temperatures ever recorded in New England.  It reached 107 degrees in Chester and New Bedford, Massachusetts. 

Providence, reached 104 degrees, still the hottest temperature on record for Rhode Island. One weird aspect of the 1975 heat wave is how much it hugged the coast, with absolutely no sea breeze. Nantucket reached 100 degrees for the only time on record there. 

Portland, Maine reached their all-time high of 103 degrees. Portsmouth, New Hampshire reached 102. 

Here in Vermont, it was "cooler" with Burlington reaching 99 degrees.  That's a multi-way tie for third hottest on record. I'm not aware of any official 100 degree readings in Vermont but my unofficial thermometer in West Rutland did hit 100 degrees that day. 

August, 2018, 2021:  The sleepless in Vermont months, as the striking thing about this hottest month on record were the muggy nights, rather than hot days. Only four days got to 90 that month, including a record high of 97 degrees on the 29th. 

But eight days during this month failed to get below 70 degrees in Burlington, It never got cooler than 66 degrees from July 31 through August 9.

August, 2021 had even worse nighttime sleeping weather. Ten nights in Burlington failed to get under 70 degrees, with five consecutive 70 degree or hotter nights from August 9-13. The low on two days in a row never got under 75 degrees. 

THIS AUGUST

All signs continue to point toward mostly warm to hot weather for most of this month. True, yesterday and this morning were the coolest since early June, but that is about to change. 

Burlington has a real shot at being in the 80s every single day from today through the next two weeks. Some of those days could touch 90 by the end of next week. 

We'll see how the end of this month goes, but even those long range forecasts lean toward warmer than normal temperatures. 

Stats Confirm: This July Is Yet Another Hot One, Third One In A Row

A severe thunderstorm over Lamoille County on 
July 10, as seen from a distance from Williston
Vermont. Other than that date, severe 
weather was pretty infrequent in our hot,
humid Vermont July, 2025

 I'm sure you felt and melted in Vermont's tropical July, 2025, and I have the receipts to prove it.

This July was another summer month that didn't really feel like Vermont.   

In Burlington, the mean temperature was 74.6, tying with 1975 and 1995 as the sixth warmest on record. 

This was the third July in a row that was among the top ten warmest on record.  Six of the top 10 warmest Julys have happened since 2018. 

Montpelier had its fifth warmest July on record. 

Unlike June, there was never any super extreme heat. No record highs. The heat was fairly persistent, but not as relentless as last year. We managed to see a substantial break in the tropical conditions on July 20-23 and the 31st. 

Still,  Burlington had eight days that got to 90 degrees or more. Only ten other Julys in the past 125 years had as many or more such days. 

It's telling how much climate change has altered our perception of a "normal" summer.    Under the "new normal" which is the average of temperatures between 1990 and 2020,  July in Burlington was a mere 2.2 degrees above this warmer "average".

Average temperature were much lower in most of the 20th century, of course. In July, 1975. the month Burlington just  tied with for sixth warmest, was at the time more than five degrees warmer than average. 

Rainfall

July in Vermont was dry, except in the Northeast Kingdom, parts of which had a destructive flash flood on July 10.  The month was also a little on the wet side in the extreme northwest. Burlington was close to normal, while my unofficial rain gauge in St. Albans collected a pretty soggy 6.5 inches of July rain. 

Extreme southwest Vermont was also a little on the wet side, but overall, most of the state was dry. A lot of places missed out on many of the typical midsummer shower and thunderstorms.

So far, drought hasn't developed, thanks to the wet spring and early summer.   Given the current forecast, though, I think some parts of Vermont will soon be declared "abnormally dry" though not in drought unless the rain falters for weeks on end. 

St. Johnsbury, having endured by far its wettest month on record last July with an incredible 17 inches of rain, was one of the driest spots in Vermont this year. They only had about 2.4 inches of rain, or about half the usual installment for July. Rutland came up about two inches short for July rainfall 

St Johnsbury is just south of the area hit be the July 10 flash floods in the Northeast Kingdom, which really was the only real extreme weather event of the month, other than the heat and humidity. The July 10 event severely damaged at least a couple homes, and washed away sections of road in Sutton, West Burke and East Haven. 

Thick wildfire smoke from Canada obscures the view for
these fishing enthusiasts at St. Albans Bay,
Vermont on July 26

That same day, severe thunderstorms in Addison County caused some flooding, and tore part of the roof off of Middlebury Union High School.  

Other than that, there were only widely scattered instances of severe thunderstorm damage in Vermont during July, which is usually the peak of what passes for the Green Mountain States severe storm season. 

The other hazard we dealt with was wildfire smoke from Canada. That's been happening most summers lately, in part another negative consequence of climate change. 

 Unlike in the upper Midwest, the smoke in Vermont usually wasn't that bad this July, 

Except on July 26, when the air quality in Vermont was some of the worst ever seen. 

LOOKING AHEAD

In June, NOAA released its outlook for July, indicating it would be a hot month around here. They were right. That forecast also leaned hesitantly toward July being a wee bit wetter than normal.  I give that a win, too, since a few places in Vermont had some extra precipitation, while others were dry.  

As we know, August is opening with cool weather. That won't last. Forecasts have us shifting to warmer than normal temperatures by Sunday afternoon, 

We lose about an hour and a half of daylight, so normal temperatures will start to cool, especially during the second half of the month.  That's only if we have some semblance of a typical pattern.

We do know that after we get through today and tomorrow, odds lean really heavily toward above normal temperatures through mid-month, according to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.

Precipitation chances during the first half of the month in this forecast seem to be near normal, maybe ever so slightly leaning toward heavier than normal toward mid month. 

Beyond mid month, forecasts get even more tenuous. The deeper into the future you go, the higher the odds forecasts will be off. Still, NOAA's three to four week outlook released today still leans pretty strongly toward above normal temperatures here. Rainfall is a tossup between above or below normal, so take your guess. 

Remarkable Vermont Temperature Crash On Friday, But It Won't Last

Some interesting patterns in an otherwise dull gray
overcast in St. Albans, Vermont late Friday afternoon,
Friday was much cooler than the most of the rest of
our sticky, steamy July was. 

Well, Friday was a change, that's for sure.  

Unlike most of Vermont's July, which featured a lot of warmth and humidity, it got downright chilly.  Especially under the rain clouds in southern Vermont. Not that I'm complaining. 

Looking at the receipts, the change in the weather was striking. Especially for summer, when there's usually not a lot of variability in temperatures. 

Springfield, Vermont really has had a southern flavored summer so far, enduring 15 days so far this year of 90 degrees or more,. 

On Thursday. it was 90 degrees at 4 p.m. in Springfield.  Exactly 24 hours hours later, at 4 p.m. Friday, it was 62 degrees. That 28-degree drop must have been a shock to the system.

Over in Bennington, it was only 61 degrees at 4 p.m. In Vermont this time of year, it should be at least 80 degrees at that hour. 

As expected, the heavier rain Friday was confined to far southern Vermont. Bennington picked up 1.19 inches, and Woodford State Park had an inch.

Once you got about 20 miles north of Route 9, precipitation was much lighter. Townsend and Springfield only had a quarter inch of rain. Rutland had only 0.02 inches. North of that, just sprinkles. 

Away from Vermont, also as expected, there was flash flooding in the Mid-Atlantic states. Like there's been a zillion times this summer, it seems. 

Back here in the Green Mountain state, skies cleared even faster than expected Friday evening, so temperatures were able to get pretty cool by this morning, especially along and north of Route 4, where it was clear the longest. Most of northern and central Vermont was down in the 40s. 

The perennial cold spot Saranac Lake, New York was down to 37 degrees. Burlington was at 51 degrees at 6 a.m. today, the coldest temperature there since June 3.

COOL AT FIRST  

The peak of summer is over, and temperatures Friday and this morning seem to prove it. But summer is not done with us, at all.  We have a lot of warm air to get to. Eventually. 

The dreariness we saw Friday is gone. It's back to bright sunshine, which will boost afternoon readings back up into the 70s.  That's still a little cool for this time of year, but not be that much. A few puffy clouds will grace our  blue skies. today, so it's be pretty out there.  We'll only have a  faint hint of that persistent wildfire smoke from Canada.

Dawn Saturday will be just as chilly as this morning. Clear skies, light winds and dry air will ensure that. But another sunny day Saturday will bring temperatures well into the 70s to near 80. The wildfire smoke might be a little more noticeable than today, but not so thick as to be a major health hazard. 

Saturday night will be another cool, comfortable night.

THE WARMUP

This cool spell will be short-lived, much shorter than forecasts from about a week ago indicated. This is one persistent summer.

By Sunday, we'll be back in the 80s as that cool, big high pressure moves off to our east a little. Every day next week will be in the 80s for most of us. There could even be a 90 degree reading in hot spots like Springfield. 

Usually, in the summer, once big high pressure passes to the east, both temperatures and humidity surges

This time the temperature will definitely go up, but the humidity will stay pretty reasonable. Dew points near 50 today and tomorrow will rise to near 60 or starting Sunday and stay that way going through at least Wednesday. That's vaguely humid if you're sensitive to it, but it's nowhere near oppressive and awful.

The humidity won't go up much because the strong high pressure that's causing this long period of sunshine and dry weather will stay near Quebec and New England. It won't have a good connection to the tropical Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico. 

Forest Fires

The long stretch of mostly sunny, dry weather, with minimal chances of showers, means we'll have to watch for forest fire hazards. We already had a forest fire in Fair Haven last week that covered at least 12 acres. The was a small brush fire in Alburgh a couple days ago. 

I have a feeling that some errant camp fires or backyard burns or flicked cigarettes could touch off a few more fires in and around Vermont this week. It won't be anything cataclysmic like what's going on in Canada, but we still don't need to add to the problem. 

There are signs we could see a period of hot, and notably more humid air toward the end of next week. That's a long way off and things could still change. 

But it'll be awhile before we see the cool, brisk and crisp breezes of autumn. 

It won't be  until later next week that the humidity will be able to surge in.

Critical Hurricane Forecast Tool To Stay Active After All

Visible satellite view of Hurricane Milton, which
grew explosively in the Gulf of Mexico last year.
At the last minute, the U.S. Defense Department
reversed a decision that would have crippled
nighttime monitoring of developing hurricanes. 

In a rare, wise move from the U.S. Defense Department. they've reversed a recent decision to end satellite monitoring that is crucial to forecasting hurricanes and other dangerous weather. 

That move in June to end the microwave satellite monitoring technology created outcry among meteorologists because they said ending the monitoring would hamstring hurricane forecasting, just as the tropical storm season was getting under way.

Apparently, the pressure from hurricane forecasters and others worked. 

Per the Washington Post:

"....officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Tuesday that they now expect 'no interruption' in the data their meteorologists received through what is known as the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, which includes microwave-based observations that reveal storm activity even through the cover of darkness."

The Defense Department was vague about the reasons behind the original decision to shut down the satellite monitoring, hinting at security concerns or a need to replace equipment. 

WaPo continues: 

 "'But after feedback from government partners, officials found a way to meeting modernization goals while keeping the data flowing until the sensor fails or the program formally ends in September, 2026,' a Navy spokesperson said in an email."

The reference to September, 2026 stems from the U.S. Space Force plans to replacing existing satellites with new ones. The first began operating in April but doesn't appear ready yet to do the microwave based observations, at least for storm forecasting. Another satellite should begin running in 2027.

Meteorologists were relieved at the late breaking news. 

 "Some good news for a change! We will keep a critical source of microwave satellite data going for at least another year, or until the satellites, which are already operating 15 year past their expected lifetime, fail," said Dr. Jeff Masters on Bluesky.

There's plenty of satellite data out there to monitor hurricanes during the day. A visual assessment of the clouds swirling around a growing hurricane can offer some of the clues as to whether the storm is strengthening and by how much and where the danger is heading.

The microwave data that almost went away is crucial to head off what hurricane forecasters call "sunrise surprises."

Under the cover of darkness, hurricanes sometimes explosively strengthen, catching people off guard who were expecting a relatively weak hurricane and instead facing a monster, Climate change seems to have increased the frequency of these exploding hurricanes. 

The microwave data allows meteorologists to catch these strengthening trends early, allowing them to quickly adjust forecasts and warn people in nearby coastal areas. 

"The last-minute move averts a crisis for forecasters who rely on the data to predict dangerous and potentially deadly episodes of rapid intensification and their computer models that use data from these microwave imagers to predict the movement and intensity of hurricanes," Michael Lowry, a former National Hurricane Center scientist, wrote on Substack. 

 We are just getting into the heart of hurricane season.  While no hurricane threats are looming now, it's inevitable that we'll need to carefully watch the Atlantic for these dangerous storms late this month and on into September and October.  

Thursday Morning Vermont Update: Cool, Rain South, Big Time Dry North

This morning's radar, shown at around 7:30 a.m. makes it
look like a lot of rain is falling. But most of it
in central and northern Vermont is evaporating
before it hits the ground, and that state of
affairs should continue all day. The yellow and
dark green in southern Vermont is rain steadily
falling and that should continue all day as well.

 If you looked at weather radar this morning, it seems like it's a really rainy Thursday in Vermont. It's not. 

Sure, a soggy weather system is approaching, but it will pass through our south. Very dry air is streaming in from Canada. 

That dry air is evaporating most of the rain that was trying to fall in central and northern Vermont.

The result will be a cloudy, cool day north, and a rainy day south. 

Not all the rain was evaporating north. Narrow ares of sprinkles were  making it to the ground, which is a bit of a surprise. 

So practically anyone in Vermont might see at least some raindrops here and there today. 

The only substantial rain, though, will hit along and south of Route 4. It looks like there will be a sharp gradient between light rain and heavier stuff. 

Near Rutland and White River Junction, the National Weather Service was calling for only a tenth of an inch of rain or so. (Though morning radar images suggested they might get a little more than that. 

Drive less than an hour or so south down Interstate 91 or Route 7 from Route 4, and soon you could really hit some soakers as you approach Bennington or Brattleboro. Places near the Massachusetts border, especially high elevations like Wilmington, Readsboro and Marlboro, could see up to an inch of rain.

Although we could have used a soaking rain, Vermont is lucky this storm is not going right over us. Those in its direct path - the Mid Atlantic States and areas as far north as Connecticut, are under flood watches today. 

New Jersey, Maryland and eastern Pennsylvania - areas that have already dealt with a lot of flash flooding this summer -  are particularly in trouble today.     

We're talking inches of rain in many of those spots, Some pinpoint areas could see as much as five or six or even more inches of rain, which would cause catastrophic flooding in a highly populated part of the nation.

I guess our national Summer of Floods is continuing. Thankfully not here in Vermont, at least for the time being.

DRY VERMONT WEEKEND

Here in Vermont, after today, we're still expecting the longest dry spell since last September.  We also have an excellent chance of breaking the streak of 32 consecutive weekends with at least a little precipitation  - at least as measured in Burlington.   

National Weather Service rain forecast has nothing in
central and northern Vermont to near an inch near
the Massachusetts border. 

According to one chart from the National Weather Service,  the percent chance of rain this weekend in Burlington gets no higher than 2 percent.  

Those are pretty damn good odds of dry weather. (Though the way this year is going, I almost wouldn't be surprised if it rains from a clear blue sky).

The annoying humidity we've had for at least a week  has been finally be flushed out, too, and it's not coming back for several days at least. 

Which means we have a Chamber of Commerce weather weekend coming up. Lingering clouds in southern Vermont should start to clear Friday. Elsewhere, it's sunshine Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 

I'd scheduled the hike and other physical activity on Friday and maybe Saturday as those days will be cooler.  Highs should be in the 70s both days, with a few low 80s Saturday in the warmer valleys. 

Then do the beach and boat day Sunday, as highs get right up there into the 80s. Despite Sunday's warmth, the humidity should stay low, which will make the days all the more pleasant. 

Low humidity also means temperatures tend to fall off quickly after sunset.  Saturday morning should be the coolest, with sunrise temporaries in the 40s for most of us. Warmer spots in the Champlain Valley would be in the low 50s. The coldest hollows of the Northeast Kingdom and New York's Adirondacks. could see some upper 30s.

The only negative I see in the weekend forecast is some wildfire smoke from Canada. It won't be as thick as it was last Saturday, which brought us some of the worst air pollution on record in Vermont. This time, the smoke might create some light haze, with air quality being so-so, and not particularly dangerous. We hope. 

NEXT RAIN?

Strong high pressure over northern New England and Quebec will be in no hurry to leave. That will keep us warm, with relatively low humidity until about midweek. 

There's mixed signals for the prospects for rain in the middle or end of next week. Some models keep high pressure strong over Quebec and just off the New England coast, which would deflect showers and thunderstorms away from us. 

Other models allow moisture to come up from the Mid-Atlantic states, which would allow a fair number of showers and thunderstorms to blossom toward Wednesday or Thursday. 

Either way, it doesn't look like any kind of real soaker. But that's a week away. Things could change. 

There are signs that the dry high pressure could eventually go offshore and merge with the famous summertime Bermuda High, which opens up a chance at another hot spell beginning in about a week. We're not sure yet, but the long range forecasts so far are leaning that way. 

Long Vermont Dry Spell Has Begun. At Least North And Central

A little dew on this flower in my St. Albans, Vermont
gardens this morning. But a generally dry forecast
means I will be watering my gardens more than I
have been so far this summer.  

 How dry we will be. With asterisks.

The gradual trend toward less rain in Vermont will really intensity starting, well, on Monday in some places, and by Friday at the latest in others. 

It sounds complicated but it's not, really.

The main cold front toward our long talked about cool down is coming through today, but I'm really not impressed by the action we'll see along it.  

Let's get into it:

TODAY

It's humid out there, still. And a cold front is at our doorstep. That would seem to be a recipe for a lot of rain and thunderstorms. However, there's dry air aloft, plus the push of cooler air will lag behind the actual cold front.

That leaves with us with only a chance of scattered thunderstorms across the state. At this point, it looks like less than half of us in the northern half of the state will see those showers and storms. In southern Vermont, there will just be isolated storms. 

Some of those few storms this afternoon and evening could still be pretty strong. The dry air aloft can get entrained in some of the storms. When that happens, you can get strong bursts of winds from these storms. 

So, NOAA's Storm Prediction Center gives the southeastern two thirds of Vermont a marginal risk of severe storms. That's the lowest of five risk levels. That means maybe one or two places might have wind strong enough to damage trees or power lines, 

I would say maybe only 30 percent of us will get a nice downpour out of these storms. The rest will of us will see anything from nothing to perhaps a mere tenth of an inch of rain. So no biggie.

Since the cooler air will be lagging, today will end up being one more very warm day. Highs in the 80s north, with some low 90s in warmer southern valleys. 

THURSDAY

Boy, you'll notice the change in the air tomorrow. 

The cold front will have gone through Vermont, meaning all of us will face cool weather for a big change. Most of us will see highs only in the 70 to 75 degree range. A few places will stay in the 60s, especially since clouds will help keep temperatures down. 

That cold front still looks like it will stall temporarily in southern New England, A wet little storm will ride along the front, but there remains debate as to how far north the rain with it will come. 

Southern New England looks like it's in for a good drenching with one to as much as three inches of rain anticipated. 

The rain will probably work north into Vermont, but how far and how much is still anybody's guess. 

Meteorologists are anticipating a sharp south to north boundary between heavy rain and practically nothing.

 If I have to take a shot at it, I'd say Bennington and Windham counties in the far south could see a good half inch of rain out of this.  There could be over an inch - maybe - near the Massachusetts border if things turn out just right. 

Light rain could make it as far north as central Vermont, but it will be battling dry air (and a little wildfire smoke) blowing in from the north.  We'll let you know if the forecast changes

In any event, this sets us up for a real dry period, especially in central Vermont. 

DRY ERA

Central Vermont has missed out on the rain lately more than the far north and far south has or will. It also looks like we'll have little or no rain anywhere in Vermont starting Friday.  

Rainfall prediction map for the next seven days.
The light green in northern Vermont depicts just a tenth
of an inch or less. Southern Vermont could get
a half inch or more, but all of that would
come between now and Thursday night. 

Sunny skies and low humidity are in the cards Friday through Monday at least. 

The relatively cool temperatures of Friday and Saturday will recover to slightly above normal temperatures again Sunday and continue all of next week. (Highs in the 80s)

All that dry weather means many of us will be watering our gardens in some cases for the first time since last summer, considering how wet our spring and early summer was. 

The humidity will start to creep up later next week, which opens the door for spot showers and storms starting maybe the middle of next week.

 But at this point, I don't see any widespread drenchers for quite a long time.

This isn't necessarily the start of a drought, but we will have to start being careful with outdoor fires starting this weekend.  The forest fire danger will start to go up.   

Wicked Winds In The Upper Midwest As Wild Thunderstorms Sweep Through

Ominous thunderstorms bear down on the Lewis and
Clark Marina in Yankton, South Dakota Monday
evening in this web cam grab. Violent storms
caused a lot of damage in parts of South Dakota,
Iowa and Minnesota Monday and Monday night.'

The expected big storms - a likely derecho - in the Upper Midwest developed, spreading hurricane-force gusts in parts of South Dakota and Iowa. 

Damage reports are just started coming in, so we don't know the extent of it. But I'm sure there are structures with roof damage, houses with trees into them, and widespread power outages.

A derecho is officially defined as a batch of intense thunderstorms that spread frequent gusts of 58 mph or more, causing damage along a path at least 240 miles long. 

This just happened, so I don't know whether this will be officially defined as a derecho. But it probably will be. Reports of damage and gusts of 60 mph or more were reported between Sioux Falls, South Dakota and at least Davenport, Iowa, and those two cities are about 340 miles apart as the crow flies.

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center will make a final determination as to whether last night's weather meets the derecho criteria.   

The complex of storms created some pretty incredible winds in the eastern half of South Dakota and through Iowa and parts of southern Minnesota.

Wind reports include 99 mph and 92 mph northeast of Sioux City, Iowa; 92 mph in Spencer, Iowa, 90 mph in Janesville, Iowa and 87 mph in Irene, South Dakota. 

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, had gusts to 83 mph. The city was ground zero for arguably the nation's worst derecho on record back in 2020 when wind gusts in Cedar Rapids reached an incredible 140 mph. Still, last night's storm had to be disheartening for a community trying to regrow its tree canopy from the storm five years ago.

Campers, some of them occupied, were blown over in north central Iowa, near the Buddy Holly Crash site.  At least 27,000 Iowans were without power last night.

In South Dakota, tree damage was widespread through much of the eastern part of the sate. A 200-foot tall cell tower collapsed in the town of Hudson.  The tower had carried signals for Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. Companies were working on a temporary fix to return service to the area, according to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. 

A second clump of storms that was part of the same system produced storms further north in Minnesota and Wisconsin. A storm gust of 76 mph was reported in Rochester, Minnesota. 

Although there won't be anything as widespread as last night, severe storms are still a good bet in a broad zone from Montana through parts of Wyoming, South Dakota, pretty much all of Nebraska and western Iowa through this evening. 

Video:

Before the likely derecho coalesced, a tornado formed in southern South Dakota. A lightning strike associated with the same storm resulting in this video of the fire and the tornado simultaneously. Click on this link to view, or if you see the image below, click on that.