Winter Storm in South Dakota, February 3 to 4, 1997

Name: Winter Storm in South Dakota, February 3 to 4, 1997
Start: 1997-02-03T05:00
End: 1997-02-04T11:00
Location: South Dakota

February 3 to 4, 1997 · NWS ABR · 26 events in 26 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 26 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 26

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS ABR wrote it up.

A winter storm dropped from 6 to 15 inches of snow across central and northeast South Dakota deepening the already expansive snowpack. The wind came up from the north at 20 to 30 mph during the morning of the 4th causing blowing and drifting snow blocking some roads and making travel hazardous if not impossible. Several vehicles got stuck or went off the road. Due to the heavy snowfall, a roof collapsed in Aberdeen damaging a car. Many schools started late or were canceled acummulating to the number of days missed for the season. Some snowfall amounts include 6 inches at Britton, Summit and Webster, 7 inches at Aberdeen, 6 SE Mcintosh, Pollock, Timber Lake, 8 inches at Leola, Ipswich, Eagle Butte and Gettysburg, 9 inches at Miller and Mellette, 10 inches at Mobridge, Watertown, Clear Lake, Pierre, Kennebec, and Onida, and 11 inches at Clark and Blunt. Snowfall amounts of a foot or more include, 12 inches at Highmore, Bryant, and Gann Valley, 13 inches at Faulkton, 14 inches 23 N Highmore and Murdo, and 15 inches at 1 SE Stephan. Up to this point in the winter season, record snowfall and record cold were the rule across central and northeast South Dakota.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

26 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Corson

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Corson forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.709, -101.197 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Campbell

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Campbell forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.771, -100.052 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, McPherson

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: McPherson forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.766, -99.221 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Brown

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Brown forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.590, -98.352 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Marshall

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Marshall forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.759, -97.598 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Roberts

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Roberts forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.630, -96.946 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Walworth

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Walworth forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.430, -100.032 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Edmunds

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Edmunds forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.419, -99.215 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Day

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Day forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.367, -97.607 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Dewey

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Dewey forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.157, -100.872 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Potter

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Potter forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.065, -99.957 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Faulk

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Faulk forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.071, -99.145 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Spink

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Spink forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.938, -98.346 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Clark

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Clark forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.858, -97.729 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Codington

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Codington forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.978, -97.189 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Grant

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Grant forecast zone
Coordinates: 45.172, -96.768 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hamlin

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Hamlin forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.674, -97.188 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Deuel

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Deuel forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.760, -96.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Stanley

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Stanley forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.412, -100.736 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sully

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Sully forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.716, -100.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hughes

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Hughes forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.389, -99.996 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hyde

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Hyde forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.547, -99.487 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hand

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Hand forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.548, -99.005 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jones

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Jones forecast zone
Coordinates: 43.961, -100.690 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lyman

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Lyman forecast zone
Coordinates: 43.896, -99.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Buffalo

When: February 3, 5:00 AM CST to February 4, 11:00 AM CST
Where: Buffalo forecast zone
Coordinates: 44.076, -99.205 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in South Dakota in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in South Dakota, February 1997

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5590921, 5590922, 5590923, 5590924, 5590925, 5590926, 5590927, 5590928, 5590929, 5590930, 5590931, 5590932, 5590933, 5590934, 5590935, 5590936, 5590937, 5590938, 5590939, 5590940, 5590941, 5590942, 5591130, 5591131, 5591132, 5591133.