Alert archive / South Dakota / Winter Storm Watches in 2009

Winter Storm Watch 7, NWS Sioux Falls, SD

December 21, 200924 counties in South Dakota; 11 counties in Iowa; 8 counties in Minnesota

NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued this winter storm watch at Dec 21, 2009, 2:02 PM CST for 24 counties in South Dakota; 11 counties in Iowa; 8 counties in Minnesota. It took effect at Dec 23, 2009, 12:00 PM CST. It was in force for .

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Dec 21, 2009, 2:02 PM CST (20:02 UTC)
In effect from
Dec 23, 2009, 12:00 PM CST
Expired
Dec 22, 2009, 2:27 PM CST
In force
Issued by
NWS Sioux Falls, SD
All 43 counties

Buena Vista County, IA, Cherokee County, IA, Clay County, IA, Dickinson County, IA, Ida County, IA, Lyon County, IA, O'Brien County, IA, Osceola County, IA, Plymouth County, IA, Sioux County, IA, Woodbury County, IA, Cottonwood County, MN, Jackson County, MN, Lincoln County, MN, Lyon County, MN, Murray County, MN, Nobles County, MN, Pipestone County, MN, Rock County, MN, Aurora County, SD, Beadle County, SD, Bon Homme County, SD, Brookings County, SD, Brule County, SD, Charles Mix County, SD, Clay County, SD, Davison County, SD, Douglas County, SD, Gregory County, SD, Hanson County, SD, Hutchinson County, SD, Jerauld County, SD, Kingsbury County, SD, Lake County, SD, Lincoln County, SD, McCook County, SD, Miner County, SD, Minnehaha County, SD, Moody County, SD, Sanborn County, SD, Turner County, SD, Union County, SD, Yankton County, SD

The radar

The Sioux Falls radar (KFSD), 12 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:05 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Minneapolis, MN (KMPX), launched 12:00Z, 8.0 hours before the alert went out and 298 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 2009-12-21Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Minneapolis, MN at 12:00Z on 2009-12-21The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 106 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
450 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
68 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
106 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
306 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this winter storm watch went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Sioux Falls, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before this winter storm watch went out at Dec 21, 10:00 AM CST, 4 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 21, 10:00 AM CST, 4 hours 2 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 21, 6:32 AM CST, 7 hours 30 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
0632 AM CST MON DEC 21 2009

SDZ038>040-050-052>071-MNZ071-072-080-081-089-090-097-098-
IAZ001>003-012>014-020>022-031-032-NEZ013-014-221200-
AURORA-BEADLE-BON HOMME-BROOKINGS-BRULE-BUENA VISTA IA-
CHARLES MIX-CHEROKEE IA-CLAY-CLAY IA-COTTONWOOD MN-DAKOTA NE-
DAVISON-DICKINSON IA-DIXON NE-DOUGLAS-GREGORY-HANSON-HUTCHINSON-
IDA IA-JACKSON MN-JERAULD-KINGSBURY-LAKE-LINCOLN-LINCOLN MN-
LYON IA-LYON MN-MCCOOK-MINER-MINNEHAHA-MOODY-MURRAY MN-NOBLES MN-
OBRIEN IA-OSCEOLA IA-PIPESTONE MN-PLYMOUTH IA-ROCK MN-SANBORN-
SIOUX IA-TURNER-UNION-WOODBURY IA-YANKTON-
0632 AM CST MON DEC 21 2009

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA...
SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA...NORTHWEST IOWA...AND NORTHEAST NEBRASKA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

WINTER WEATHER...
A BAND OF SNOW SHOULD DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...MAINLY
NORTH OF INTERSTATE 90 IN SOUTH DAKOTA...TO SOUTHWEST
MINNESOTA...AND FAR NORTHERN PARTS OF NORTHWEST IOWA. GENERALLY 1
TO 3 INCHES SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED...BUT LOCAL AMOUNTS UP TO 4
INCHES IS POSSIBLE ON A LINE FROM NEAR BROOKINGS SOUTH DAKOTA TO
JACKSON MINNESOTA...INCLUDING LOCATIONS NEAR THE BUFFALO RIDGE.
ALSO PATCHY LIGHT FREEZING RAIN OR FREEZING DRIZZLE IS POSSIBLE
ALONG THE MISSOURI VALLEY TO SOUTHERN PARTS OF NORTHWEST IOWA
FROM LATER THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT.

WIND AND FOG...
WIDESPREAD FOG...DENSE IN PLACES WITH VISIBILITIES AT OR BELOW A
QUARTER MILE...WILL GRADUALLY LIFT BY LATE MORNING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

AREAS OF FREEZING DRIZZLE SHOULD DEVELOP OVER THE AREA TUESDAY
AND TUESDAY NIGHT...AS MILD AIR ALOFT OVERRUNS COLD MOIST AIR
NEAR THE SURFACE. THEN SNOW SHOULD SPREAD NORTH OVER THE AREA
THROUGH WEDNESDAY...AS A MAJOR WINTER STORM SYSTEM DEVELOPS IN
THE PLAINS.

THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A SIGNIFICANT WINTER STORM TO AFFECT A
GOOD PART OF THE AREA FROM WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. AT THIS TIME
THE BEST POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY SNOW IS SOUTHEAST OF A LINE FROM
BROOKINGS TO SPRINGFIELD SOUTH DAKOTA...BUT THIS COULD SHIFT
NORTHWEST WITH LATER FORECASTS. IN ADDITION TO THE HEAVY
SNOW...STRONG WINDS LOOK TO CREATE AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING
SNOW MAKING TRAVEL TREACHEROUS. THE PRECISE TRACK OF THIS SYSTEM
IS UNCERTAIN AT THIS POINT...BUT THOSE WITH TRAVEL PLANS SHOULD
STAY TUNED TO THE LATEST INFORMATION REGARDING THIS MAJOR WINTER
STORM.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT.

&&

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SIOUXFALLS. THIS INCLUDES THE GRAPHICAL HAZARDOUS
WEATHER OUTLOOK.

RSR

The office that day

Everything else NWS Sioux Falls, SD issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 21, 4:39 PM CSTFreezing Rain AdvisoryFSDAurora, Davison, Douglas, Hanson, Hutchinson, Lincoln and 3 more3 hr

Nearby

Winter Storm Watches in South Dakota, 2009Winter Storm Watches in Iowa, 2009Winter Storm Watches in Minnesota, 2009Every winter storm watch in 2009

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.