Winter Storm in South Dakota, December 8 to 9, 2003

Name: Winter Storm in South Dakota, December 8 to 9, 2003
Start: 2003-12-08T22:00
End: 2003-12-09T12:00
Location: South Dakota

December 8 to 9, 2003 · NWS FSD · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

and by winds strong enough to cause blowing and drifting snow as the snow accumulated. The 12 inch report was from Lake Andes.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 13 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: 13

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.

Snowfall of 6 to 12 inches was accompanied by freezing rain in some areas early in the event...and by winds strong enough to cause blowing and drifting snow as the snow accumulated. The 12 inch report was from Lake Andes. Schools were delayed or closed, and several school related athletic events were postponed. Travel was severely hampered.

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 Sioux Falls, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 8, 9:07 PM CST, 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 8, 9:07 PM CST, 53 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 8, 12:47 PM CST, 9 hours 13 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
1247 PM CST MON DEC 08 2003

SDZ038>040-050-052>071-MNZ071-072-080-081-089-090-097-098-
IAZ001>003-012>014-020>022-031-032-NEZ013-014-091200-
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-

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

WINTER WEATHER...
AREAS OF SNOW WILL DEVELOP LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING ACROSS
SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA AND SPREAD EAST AND BECOME MORE
WIDESPREAD   OVERNIGHT.  A BAND OF HEAVIER SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED
TO SET UP FROM SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA AND NORTHEAST
NEBRASKA...ACROSS NORTHWEST IOWA AND INTO SOUTHWEST
MINNESOTA...WHERE ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE EXPECTED BY
DAYBREAK.  AMOUNTS TO THE NORTH WILL DROP OFF SHARPLY... WITH
LESS THAN AN INCH FROM CHAMBERLAIN TO BROOKINGS. THE SNOW WILL BE
PRECEDED BY PATCHY FREEZING DRIZZLE THIS EVENING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

SNOW WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE REGION ON TUESDAY...WITH THE
BAND EXPECTED TO SHIFT SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE DAY.  HEAVIEST
SNOWFALL WILL TAPER OFF LATE IN THE MORNING IN SOUTHEAST SOUTH
DAKOTA...BUT LINGER INTO THE AFTERNOON OVER MUCH OF NORTHWEST
IOWA.  TOTAL STORM ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED FROM 2 TO 4 INCHES
ALONG A LINE FROM PICKSTOWN TO FLANDREAU TO MARSHALL...WITH 3 TO
6 INCHES TO THE SOUTH OF THIS LINE. IN ADDITION... STRONG NORTH
WINDS WILL CREATE CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW ON
TUESDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT.

&&

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

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Charles Mix

When: December 8, 10:00 PM CST to December 9, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Charles Mix forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.208, -98.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Douglas

When: December 8, 10:00 PM CST to December 9, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Douglas forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.387, -98.366 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Gregory

When: December 8, 10:00 PM CST to December 9, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Gregory forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.192, -99.186 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hanson

When: December 8, 10:00 PM CST to December 9, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Hanson forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.675, -97.787 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hutchinson

When: December 8, 10:00 PM CST to December 9, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Hutchinson forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.335, -97.754 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lake

When: December 8, 10:00 PM CST to December 9, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Lake forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.022, -97.129 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lincoln

When: December 8, 10:00 PM CST to December 9, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.279, -96.722 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, McCook

When: December 8, 10:00 PM CST to December 9, 12:00 PM CST
Where: McCook forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.674, -97.368 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Minnehaha

When: December 8, 10:00 PM CST to December 9, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Minnehaha forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.674, -96.791 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Moody

When: December 8, 10:00 PM CST to December 9, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Moody forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.022, -96.671 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Turner

When: December 8, 10:00 PM CST to December 9, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Turner forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.311, -97.149 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Yankton

When: December 8, 10:00 PM CST to December 9, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Yankton forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.009, -97.395 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Bon Homme

When: December 8, 10:00 PM CST to December 9, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Bon Homme forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 42.988, -97.885 (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 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in South Dakota, December 2003

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: 5328220, 5328221, 5328222, 5328223, 5328224, 5328225, 5328226, 5328227, 5328228, 5328229, 5328230, 5328231, 5329223.