A strong storm system that moved through the Watertown area Tuesday night dropped a record amount of precipitation and some eye-popping hailstones.

The hail – some stones the size of baseballs – also left many parts of town covered with tree debris and many cars covered with dents. Social media sites were rife with photos and videos from the storm and its aftermath.

There were no reports of major damage as of early this morning. The hail did force the cancellation of softball action at the Koch Complex and the second game of the Post 17 American Legion baseball team’s doubleheader with Sioux Falls East at the Watertown Stadium.

“Watertown had been in a slight risk of severe weather last evening,” said Ryan Vipond, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Aberdeen. “The severe risk was supposed to be farther to the east, so it looks like it developed a little to the south and west of where the main stuff was supposed to be.”

The storm kept charging east, producing reports of high winds and power outages in central Minnesota around midnight, Vipond said.

He said there was a report of an 80 mph wind gust at the Watertown airport.

“I’m a bit skeptical of that number,” Vipond told the Public Opinion. “I’m sure the winds were in the 50 to 60 mph range, maybe up to 70, but I’d think there would have been more damage if the wind had gotten up to 80 mph.”

A few hours after the hail ended, the Watertown area was treated to a massive light show as near-constant lightning lit up the night sky

“It’s summer,” Vipond said, “so a storm like this is nothing out of the ordinary. When it’s hot and humid, and the right ingredients come together, we’re going to have some severe weather.”

Tuesday’s high temperature in Watertown reached 92 degrees, tying a high for the year. It was also 92 on July 5. The high temperature during June was 91 degrees.

Official total precipitation in Watertown on Tuesday was 1.59 inches, setting a new record for July 11. The previous record was 1.26 inches in 1966, Vipond said.

Slightly higher rainfall totals were record a couple of miles east of Watertown (1.62 inches) and a couple of miles west of town (1.78 inches).

Jim Sutton, emergency management director for Codington County, said there were no major damage reports as of 8:30 a.m. There were reports of dented cars and damaged vinyl siding on homes and also some reports of plugged stormwater drains resulting in minor street flooding.

As the storm headed out of Watertown and into Deuel County, the hail wasn’t as intense.

“We had some pea-sized hail when I was driving around Goodwin,” said Cory Borg, Deuel County’s emergency management director, “but that was about it, at least for the first wave that went through.”

Borg said he had received no reports of damaged crops or property in the county.

Reports from west of Watertown indicated no crop damage as well.