Summer hail prompts use of snowplows in South Dakota city

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A brief but intense hailstorm that dropped as much as 4 inches of slippery pellets in a South Dakota city prompted officials to call out snowplows in the middle of summer.

Pennington County Sheriff's Deputy Matthew Jackson tells the Rapid City Journal (http://bit.ly/1MtzW6U ) that the Tuesday night incident on U.S. Highway 16 south of Rapid City was "definitely weird" for mid-July.

The National Weather Service says pea-size hail pelted the highway for about 15 minutes. Jackson says the area was shrouded in heavy fog as the hail melted and a few cars went off the road, but that there were no serious injuries.

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Information from: Rapid City Journal, http://www.rapidcityjournal.com