Blizzard in South Dakota, January 9 to 11, 1997

Strong winds, gusting as high as 60 mph, combined with loose heavy snow cover and 1 to 3 inches of new snow to produce widespread and prolonged blizzard conditions. Wind chills as cold as 80 below zero also occurred. Transportation, schools, and commerce were halted as roads were blocked by drifting and zero visibility otherwise made travel impossible. Drifts as high as 20 feet were reported. Livestock losses were suspected to be in the thousands as many died during the blizzard and stress was expected to produce additional losses with time. Some roofs collapsed from the weight of snow, especially on farm buildings. Some power outages occurred from broken lines and poles, mainly in rural areas. Several accidents occurred including an 18 vehicle accident just north of Sioux Falls shortly after the onset of the blizzard. The greater part of the damage was suspected to be long term economic damage from the transportation shutdown and the resulting loss of commerce and farm services such as milk pickup, from snow removal costs, and from the livestock losses. The amount of most of this damage could not be determined.