Snow Plows Called Out In South Dakota… In July!

Here in southeastern Minnesota, we've been known to have our share of wacky weather. Like that 18 inches of snow that fell back in early May of 2013. But at least we haven't had to call the snow plows back out -- in the middle of July -- like Rapid City just did.

Yes, if you were out and about last night in South Dakota's Rapid City, you would have possibly encountered snow plows -- in the middle of summer. Although, they weren't necessarily plowing snow; they were clearing hail.

According to a story in the Rapid City Journal, a short but intense storm dumped nearly 4 inches of hail along several area roadways in and around the South Dakota city.

According to the story, "Snowplows were called out to clear the road,' said Pennington County Sheriff's Deputy Matthew Jackson. 'That's definitely weird for mid-July,' Jackson said, 'but it's South Dakota.'" 

The story went on to say that a few cars ended up in the ditch thanks to the hail, but there were no injuries reported. Heavy fog also enveloped the area as the hail melted, making travel even more treacherous, the story said.

I'm not sure what I would do if I happened to encounter a snow plow lumbering along Highway 52 in the middle of July. That's some weird weather, alright. Have you ever heard of such a thing happening?