A welcome thunderstorm cluster arrived in Sioux Falls around 5am, bringing a wide range of rainfall totals to the city. Most folks picked up .40″ to 60″, with less on the east side and more to the west.

We saw the elk enjoying the view at Terry Peak this morning. More rain in on the way for the Black Hills this weekend.

The Huron Doppler shows the patchwork of thunderstorms across eastern SD the past 12 hours.

We are thankful for any rain we can get, especially considering the severity of the latest drought monitor update in southeast SD.

The main problem is still the variability of rainfall ranges. You can see big number differences over small distances. Some folks have a few hundredths, others over 1 inch.

The recent heat has been taking moisture out of the ground at a rapid rate. This picture will soon change.

Futurecast shows additional rain chances ahead the next 24 to 48 hours. We expect scattered thunderstorms today and tonight across much of KELOLAND. The general tendency is for more rain to regroup south of I-90 late Saturday and Saturday night.

We’ll need to capitalize on the rain chances the next 48 hours. Once the cold front pushes fully through KELOLAND, the dew points around the region will drop and so will the rain chances for several days.

Here are the details of the forecast.