An Analysis of the June 23rd, 2002, Brown County, South Dakota Tornadic Cyclical Supercell

On June 23rd, 2002, a tornadic cyclical supercell formed in McPherson County, South Dakota and moved into Brown County before becoming tornadic. The storm produced at least 6 tornadoes over a period of nearly two hours. Damage on the Fujita scale ranged from F0 to F4 and was the first time an F4 was ever recorded in Brown County. The pre-storm environment at 00z, June 24th consisted of a warm front setup over extreme Northern South Dakota with the sfc low centered over North Central South Dakota. An analysis is presented of the initial storm environment (both synoptically and regionally) using surface, upper air, radar and satellite imagery. Photographic documentation of the various tornadoes is also included with the analysis.