Blizzard in South Dakota, November 27 to 28, 2005

Name: Blizzard in South Dakota, November 27 to 28, 2005
Start: 2005-11-27T16:00
End: 2005-11-28T21:00
Location: South Dakota

November 27 to 28, 2005 · NWS ABR · 12 events in 12 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 12 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: 12

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.

Snow began across most of central and north central South Dakota in the late afternoon and early evening hours of the 27th with significant snowfall accumulations occurring by the time the snow ended later in the day on the 28th. Snowfall accumulations ranged from as little as 2 inches to as much as 20 inches. Strong northwest winds of 30 to 50 mph with gusts to 70 mph caused widespread blizzard conditions from the early morning until the late afternoon hours of the 28th. Visibilities were reduced to zero many times across the area with snowdrifts of 5 to 10 feet high in some places. Freezing rain occurred before the snow across the far eastern portions of Mcpherson and Edmunds county resulting in some power outages. Some power lines were also brought down in the Pierre and Fort Pierre area due to snow accumulation and high winds. Many roads along with Interstate-90 were closed due to the treacherous travel conditions. Several accidents occurred during the storm along with many motorists being stranded. Several people had to be rescued. Schools, businesses, government offices, and many other organizations were closed. FEMA, state officials, along with the governor surveyed the storm damage. Some of the significant snowfall amounts included, 7 inches at Eureka, 8 inches at Onaka, 10 inches at Onida and Fort Thompson, 11 inches near Presho, 16 inches at Highmore, and 21 inches at Kennebec.

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 Nov 27, 4:44 AM CST, 11 hours 16 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 27, 4:44 AM CST, 11 hours 16 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 27, 5:38 AM CST, 10 hours 22 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
538 AM CST SUN NOV 27 2005

MNZ039-046-SDZ007-008-011-019>023-281145-
TRAVERSE-BIG STONE-MARSHALL-ROBERTS-DAY-CLARK-CODINGTON-GRANT-
HAMLIN-DEUEL-
538 AM CST SUN NOV 27 2005

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL
MINNESOTA AND NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

SIGNIFICANT ICE AND SNOW ACCUMULATIONS HAVE PROMPTED A WINTER
STORM WARNING FOR THIS AREA FOR THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY
NIGHT. UPWARDS OF 1/2 INCH OF ICE ACCRETION AND 6 INCHES OF SNOW
ACCUMULATION ARE EXPECTED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

SNOWFALL SHOULD END BY MONDAY NIGHT WITH UPWARDS OF 6 INCHES OF
SNOW ACCUMULATION. ON MONDAY WINDS WILL PICK UP TO 30 TO 40 MPH
RESULTING IN REDUCED VISIBILITIES AND BLOWING SNOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
THOUGH NOT REQUIRED...SPOTTER SNOWFALL AND ICE ACCUMULATION REPORTS
WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED DURING THIS WINTER WEATHER EVENT.

SDZ004-005-009-010-016-017-034>036-048-281145-
CAMPBELL-MCPHERSON-WALWORTH-EDMUNDS-POTTER-FAULK-SULLY-HUGHES-
HYDE-LYMAN-
538 AM CST SUN NOV 27 2005

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL SOUTH
DAKOTA AND NORTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS HAVE PROMPTED A WINTER STORM
WARNING FOR THIS AREA FOR THIS EVENING THROUGH MONDAY EVENING.
UPWARDS OF 6 TO 12 INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATION ARE EXPECTED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

SNOWFALL SHOULD END BY MONDAY EVENING WITH A TOTAL OF 6 TO 12
INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATION. ON MONDAY WINDS WILL PICK UP TO 30
TO 40 MPH RESULTING IN REDUCED VISIBILITIES AND BLOWING SNOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
THOUGH NOT REQUIRED...SPOTTER SNOWFALL AND ICE ACCUMULATION REPORTS
WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED DURING THIS WINTER WEATHER EVENT.

SDZ006-018-037-051-281145-
BROWN-SPINK-HAND-BUFFALO-
538 AM CST SUN NOV 27 2005

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL SOUTH
DAKOTA AND NORTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

SIGNIFICANT ICE AND SNOW ACCUMULATIONS HAVE PROMPTED A WINTER
STORM WARNING FOR THIS AREA FOR THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY
NIGHT. UPWARDS OF 1/2 INCH OF ICE ACCRETION AND 6 INCHES OF SNOW
ACCUMULATION ARE EXPECTED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

SNOWFALL SHOULD END DURING MONDAY EVENING WITH A TOTAL OF 6 TO
12 INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATION. ON MONDAY...WINDS WILL PICK UP TO
30 TO 40 MPH RESULTING IN REDUCED VISIBILITIES AND BLOWING SNOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
THOUGH NOT REQUIRED...SPOTTER SNOWFALL AND ICE ACCUMULATION REPORTS
WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED DURING THIS WINTER WEATHER EVENT.

SDZ003-015-033-045-281145-
CORSON-DEWEY-STANLEY-JONES-
538 AM CST SUN NOV 27 2005 /438 AM MST SUN NOV 27 2005/

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL SOUTH
DAKOTA AND NORTH CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW IS IN EFFECET TONIGHT AND
MONDAY FOR AN AREA OF SNOWFALL WHICH WILL IMPACT THE OUTLOOK AREA
THIS EVENING THROUGH MID-DAY MONDAY. 1 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOWFALL IS
EXPECTED OVERNIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

SNOWFALL SHOULD END DURING THE DAY ON MONDAY WITH A TOTAL OF 3 TO
5 INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATION. THEN...WINDS WILL PICK UP TO 30 TO
40 MPH RESULTING IN REDUCED VISIBILITIES AND BLOWING SNOW.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
THOUGH NOT REQUIRED...SPOTTER SNOWFALL AND ICE ACCUMULATION REPORTS
WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED DURING THIS WINTER WEATHER EVENT.

DORN

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Nov 27, 1:54 PM CST, 2 hours 6 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Special weather statement, Nov 27, 1:54 PM CST, 2 hours 6 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

12 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, McPherson

When: November 27, 4:00 PM CST to November 28, 9:00 PM CST
Where: McPherson forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 45.766, -99.221 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Edmunds

When: November 27, 4:00 PM CST to November 28, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Edmunds forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 45.419, -99.215 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Hyde

When: November 27, 5:00 PM CST to November 28, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Hyde forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.547, -99.487 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Buffalo

When: November 27, 5:00 PM CST to November 28, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Buffalo forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 44.076, -99.205 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Lyman

When: November 27, 5:00 PM CST to November 28, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Lyman forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 43.896, -99.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Campbell

When: November 27, 6:00 PM CST to November 28, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Campbell forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 45.771, -100.052 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Walworth

When: November 27, 6:00 PM CST to November 28, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Walworth forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 45.430, -100.032 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Potter

When: November 27, 6:00 PM CST to November 28, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Potter forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 45.065, -99.957 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Sully

When: November 27, 6:00 PM CST to November 28, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Sully forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 44.716, -100.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Hughes

When: November 27, 6:00 PM CST to November 28, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Hughes forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 44.389, -99.996 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Stanley

When: November 27, 7:00 PM CST to November 28, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Stanley forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 44.412, -100.736 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Jones

When: November 27, 8:00 PM CST to November 28, 5:00 PM CST
Where: Jones forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 43.961, -100.690 (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

Every storm in South Dakota in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in South Dakota, November 2005

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: 5485489, 5485490, 5485491, 5485492, 5485500, 5485493, 5485494, 5485495, 5485498, 5485499, 5485496, 5485497.