Blizzard, Beadle
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Beadle forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.415, -98.278 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard in South Dakota, January 4 to 5, 1997
Winds gusting to 45 mph combined with 2 to 4 inches of new snow and existing loose snow cover to cause widespread blizzard conditions in blowing snow. Visibility was frequently reduced to near zero, roads were blocked, and businesses were closed.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 24 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 5
- Property damage
- $180,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 24
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 FSD wrote it up.
Winds gusting to 45 mph combined with 2 to 4 inches of new snow and existing loose snow cover to cause widespread blizzard conditions in blowing snow. Visibility was frequently reduced to near zero, roads were blocked, and businesses were closed. There was damage to trees and power lines, mainly north of Sioux Falls and east of Huron where freezing rain preceded the blizzard. Scattered power outages occurred, mainly in rural areas. Near Lake Preston a train was derailed and stranded. Livestock loss was suspected. The amount of most of the damage could not be determined as much of the economic impact was long term and could neither be accurately estimated nor separated well from other events during the winter.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
24 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard, Kingsbury
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Kingsbury forecast zone
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Coordinates
- 44.370, -97.491 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Brookings
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Brookings forecast zone
- Property damage
- $100,000
- Coordinates
- 44.370, -96.790 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Gregory
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Gregory forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.192, -99.186 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Jerauld
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Jerauld forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.066, -98.630 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Sanborn
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Sanborn forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.023, -98.091 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Miner
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Miner forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.022, -97.610 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Lake
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Lake forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.022, -97.129 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Moody
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Moody forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.022, -96.671 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Brule
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Brule forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.718, -99.081 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Aurora
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Aurora forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.718, -98.561 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Davison
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Davison forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.675, -98.146 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Hanson
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Hanson forecast zone
- Injuries
- 2 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $30,000
- Coordinates
- 43.675, -97.787 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, McCook
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- McCook forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.674, -97.368 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Minnehaha
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Minnehaha forecast zone
- Injuries
- 3 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $30,000
- Coordinates
- 43.674, -96.791 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Charles Mix
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Charles Mix forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.208, -98.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Douglas
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Douglas forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.387, -98.366 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Hutchinson
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Hutchinson forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.335, -97.754 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Turner
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Turner forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.311, -97.149 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Lincoln
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Lincoln forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.279, -96.722 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Bon Homme
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Bon Homme forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.988, -97.885 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Yankton
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Yankton forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.009, -97.395 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Clay
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Clay forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.915, -96.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Union
- When
- January 4, 9:00 AM CST to January 5, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Union forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 42.833, -96.656 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Blizzard
- Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Blizzard in North Dakota, January 4 to 5, 1997
- Tornado in Kentucky, January 4, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, January 4, 1997
- Blizzard in Nebraska, January 4, 1997
- Cold in Illinois, January 4, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, January 4, 1997
- Blizzard in Minnesota, January 4 to 5, 1997
- Blizzard in North Dakota, January 4 to 22, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, January 4, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Alabama, January 4, 1997
- Blizzard in South Dakota, January 4 to 5, 1997
- Winter Storm in Minnesota, January 4 to 5, 1997
More
Every storm in South Dakota in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, January 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: 5591467, 5591468, 5591469, 5591470, 5591471, 5591472, 5591473, 5591474, 5591475, 5591476, 5591477, 5591478, 5591479, 5591480, 5591481, 5591482, 5591483, 5591484, 5591485, 5591486, 5591487, 5591488, 5591489, 5591490.