South Dakota, 2001

Winter Storm in South Dakota, February 7 to 8, 2001

February 7 to 8, 2001 · NWS ABR · 26 events in 26 counties and zones

Heavy snow of 6 to 16 inches fell across central and northeast South Dakota resulting in school and activities cancellations, closing of some businesses, and difficult if not impossible travel. Several people became stranded and had to be rescued.

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

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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.

Heavy snow of 6 to 16 inches fell across central and northeast South Dakota resulting in school and activities cancellations, closing of some businesses, and difficult if not impossible travel. Several people became stranded and had to be rescued. There were also flight cancellations and delays along with some vehicle accidents resulting in minor injuries. Some snowfall amounts included, 6 inches at Mound City, Mobridge, Eureka, 7 inches at Milbank and 6 SE McIntosh, 8 inches at Aberdeen, Ipswich, Selby, Iona, and Britton, 9 inches at Clark, 1 S Columbia, Isabel, Webster, and 10 inches at Roscoe, Watertown, and 1 W of Summit. Locations with snowfall of a foot included, Mission Ridge, Murdo, 4 NW Onida, Castlewood, 23 N Highmore, and Timber Lake. Thirteen inches of snow fell at Canning, and Fort Pierre, 14 inches fell at Gettysburg, Eagle Butte, and Pierre with 15 inches at Miller and 16 inches of snow at Clear Lake, Mellette, and Faulkton.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Aberdeen, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 6, 3:15 PM CST, 9 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 6, 3:15 PM CST, 9 hours 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR CENTRAL/NORTHCENTRAL AND NORTHEAST
SOUTH DAKOTA AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
315 PM CST TUE FEB 6 2001

FOR TONIGHT...WEAK WRM FRONT HAS DRAPED E-W ACROSS NRN PART OF
CWA...AND WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR LGT SNOW REPORTED EARLIER. FRONT
STALLS AND WASHES OUT OVERNIGHT AS NEXT STRONG SYSTEM EJECTS OUT OF
SW. STRONG SW FLOW ALOFT HELPS TO EJECT FIRST WAVE THROUGH DURING
DAY ON WEDNESDAY...WITH NEXT WAVE COMING THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT
INTO THURSDAY. SNOW LOOKS TO BREAK OUT THIS EVENING ACROSS SC AND NC
SD WITH BEGINNING WAA. MSAS ANLYS SHOWS WRM FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH WY
LOW TO BE FURTHER NORTH THAN PREVIOUSLY ANTICIPATED. SOUTH OF THE
FRONT DWPTS IN NEB ARE IN LOWER TO MID 30S...SO NOT A BIG CONCERN
ABOUT MOIST ADVECTION...CONTRARY TO WHAT ETA IS SHOWING. ON 280 AND
290K SFCS...SPEC HUMIDITIES DON'T REALLY INCREASE ALL THAT MUCH
DURING DAY ON WED ACROSS NRN PART OF CWA...WITH MOST PLACES LESS
THAN 2 G/KG. HOWEVER...LOOKING AT 7H AND 8H TEMP PROFILES...STRONG
THERMAL GRADIENT SETS UP WEDNESDAY. THETA-E ANALYS AT 7H AND 8H
SHOWS RIDGING TAKING PLACE DURING DAY ON WED WITH DECENT WINDS
BLOWING ACROSS THETA SFCS. THINK THAT LACK OF MOIST...IF THIS PANS
OUT...WILL BE COUNTERED BY STRONG WAA OVERRUNNING AND STRENGTH OF
THEMAL GRADIENT. ALSO...LOOKING AT 7H-3H Q-VECTOR ANALYS...STRONG
FORCING BEGINS 12Z WED IN KPIR AREA...AND ADVECTS NE INTO KABR AREA
BY 00Z THURSDAY. AVN/NOGAPS HAS HEAVIEST SNOWFALL SC 12Z WED AND
MOVES IT NORTHEAST BY 00Z...SIMILAR TO ETA Q-VECTOR PATTERN. ALSO OF
SOME CONCERN IS THE WINDS. ETA SFC WINDS INCREASE TO 20 TO 25 KTS
DURING DAY ON WEDESDAY...AND FWC GUID HAS THIS AS WELL. OF SOME
INTEREST IS THE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS THAT ETA BUFKIT GIVES ACROSS THE
CWA...WITH KPIR AT 21 INCHES...KABR AT 14 INCHES...KATY AT 15 INCHES
AND KMBG AND 13.5 INCHES. MESO-ETA HAS THE SAME TREND...BUT ABOUT 5
INCHES LOWER AND OVER A 24-30HR TIME FRAME. 7H TROF...ONCE IT GETS
TO ERN SD STALLS. WAA CONTS OVER MUCH OF ERN CWA THROUGH WED
NIGHT...ALTHO WEAKENING AS TIME GOES ON. STRONG WINDS DON'T DIMINISH
AT ALL AND BLSN STILL A THREAT. WILL UPGRADE CURRENT WATCHES TO
WARNINGS...AND EXPAND WARNING NORTH INTO NERN PART OF SD. NOT REAL
SURE IF SNOWFALL TOTALS WILL PAN OUT...BUT SNOW COMBINED WITH WIND
SHOULD MAKE CRITERIA.

...EXTENDED...
WHAT EXTENDED MODELS ARE AVAILABLE ARE IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT
TODAY...AT LEAST OUT THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. THE SURFACE LOW WILL BE
OVER ILLINOIS FRIDAY MORNING...AND WILL SLOWLY MOVE NORTHEAST WITH A
HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE PUSHING INTO THE PLAINS. A DECENT UPPER TROUGH
WILL BE OVER THE REGION AT THIS TIME AND WILL LIKELY PRODUCE ENOUGH
CLOUD COVER TO KEEP TEMPS DOWN. THE RIDGE MOVES EAST OF THE AREA ON
SATURDAY WITH THE GRADIENT TIGHTENING OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS
BETWEEN THE HIGH AND LOW PRESSURE DEVELOPING OVER THE NORTHERN
ROCKIES. THIS LOW BEGINS TO DIVE SOUTHEASTWARD LATE SATURDAY AND
ENDS UP OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS BY SUNDAY MORNING. THE MRF HAS THIS
LOW MUCH STRONGER THAN THE OTHER MODELS...BUT WITH ALL OF THEM BEING
IN CLOSE PROXIMITY...FEEL IT IS WORTH MENTIONING A CHANCE OF
SNOW...BEGINNING SATURDAY IN THE NORTHWEST AND SUNDAY OVER THE
ENTIRE CWA.  THE GRADIENT REMAINS TIGHT OVER THE AREA ALL DAY
SUNDAY. ON MONDAY...THE LOW MOVES EAST WITH A NOSE OF HIGH PRESSURE
SLIDING DOWN FROM A HIGH OVER CANADA. WEAK UPPER LEVEL RIDGING ALSO
SETS UP AND CONTINUES INTO TUESDAY. H85 TEMPS REMAINS FAIRLY
COOL...SO TEMPS SHOULD REMAIN NEAR NORMAL.

.ABR...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY SOUTH CENTRAL.
       WINTER STORMZ WARNING WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT NORTHEAST.

HINTZ/PARKIN

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, Hughes

When
February 7, 1:00 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Hughes forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.389, -99.996 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Stanley

When
February 7, 1:00 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Stanley forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.412, -100.736 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jones

When
February 7, 1:00 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Jones forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.961, -100.690 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lyman

When
February 7, 1:00 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Lyman forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
43.896, -99.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Buffalo

When
February 7, 1:00 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Buffalo forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.076, -99.205 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sully

When
February 7, 1:00 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Sully forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.716, -100.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Faulk

When
February 7, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where
Faulk forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.071, -99.145 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hyde

When
February 7, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where
Hyde forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.547, -99.487 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hand

When
February 7, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where
Hand forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.548, -99.005 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Edmunds

When
February 7, 2:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where
Edmunds forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.419, -99.215 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Potter

When
February 7, 3:00 AM CST to 8:00 PM CST
Where
Potter forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.065, -99.957 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Campbell

When
February 7, 3:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where
Campbell forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.771, -100.052 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Corson

When
February 7, 3:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where
Corson forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.709, -101.197 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Dewey

When
February 7, 3:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where
Dewey forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.157, -100.872 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Walworth

When
February 7, 3:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where
Walworth forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.430, -100.032 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, McPherson

When
February 7, 3:00 AM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where
McPherson forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.766, -99.221 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Brown

When
February 7, 4:00 AM CST to February 8, 3:00 AM CST
Where
Brown forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
45.590, -98.352 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Day

When
February 7, 4:00 AM CST to February 8, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Day forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.367, -97.607 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Spink

When
February 7, 4:00 AM CST to February 8, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Spink forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.938, -98.346 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Clark

When
February 7, 4:00 AM CST to February 8, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Clark forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.858, -97.729 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Marshall

When
February 7, 5:00 AM CST to February 8, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Marshall forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.759, -97.598 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Codington

When
February 7, 5:00 AM CST to February 8, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Codington forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.978, -97.189 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hamlin

When
February 7, 5:00 AM CST to February 8, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Hamlin forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.674, -97.188 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Roberts

When
February 7, 6:00 AM CST to February 8, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Roberts forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.630, -96.946 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Grant

When
February 7, 6:00 AM CST to February 8, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Grant forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.172, -96.768 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Deuel

When
February 7, 6:00 AM CST to February 8, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Deuel forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
44.760, -96.668 (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

More

Every storm in South Dakota in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, February 2001

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5233986, 5233987, 5233988, 5233989, 5233990, 5233991, 5234464, 5234465, 5234466, 5234472, 5234463, 5234467, 5234468, 5234469, 5234470, 5234471, 5234539, 5234542, 5234543, 5234544, 5234540, 5234545, 5234546, 5234541, 5234547, 5234548.