Name: Winter Storm in South Dakota, December 23 to 26, 2009
Start: 2009-12-23T19:00
End: 2009-12-26T23:00
Location: South Dakota

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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: 2

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.

A broad upper level low pressure area over the Upper Midwest associated with an intense surface low pressure area brought widespread heavy snow along with low visibilities in blowing snow to Grant and Deuel counties. The storm was a slow mover and produced several rounds of snow over a three-day period. Total snowfall amounts were from 17 to 22 inches. The heavy snow combined with winds of 20 to 35 mph brought widespread blowing and drifting snow. This storm ranked as one of the top three snowiest for the entire state.

Prior to the onset of the storm, the Governor declared a state of emergency for South Dakota. Most of Interstate-29 was closed late on December 24th and not reopened until the morning of December 27th. There were some stranded holiday travelers due to the road closings along with a few accidents.

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 Dec 23, 2:06 PM CST, 4 hours 54 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 23, 2:06 PM CST, 4 hours 54 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 23, 5:27 AM CST, 13 hours 33 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
527 AM CST WED DEC 23 2009

MNZ039-046-SDZ003>011-015>023-033>037-045-048-051-241130-
TRAVERSE-BIG STONE-CORSON-CAMPBELL-MCPHERSON-BROWN-MARSHALL-
ROBERTS-WALWORTH-EDMUNDS-DAY-DEWEY-POTTER-FAULK-SPINK-CLARK-
CODINGTON-GRANT-HAMLIN-DEUEL-STANLEY-SULLY-HUGHES-HYDE-HAND-JONES-
LYMAN-BUFFALO-
527 AM CST WED DEC 23 2009 /427 AM MST WED DEC 23 2009/

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT
A MAJOR WINTER STORM WILL BE AFFECTING ALL OF THE UPPER MIDWEST. WIDESPREAD
SNOW WILL DEVELOP TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE WINTER STORM WARNING WILL
TAKE EFFECT THIS EVENING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY
SNOW WILL INTENSIFY THURSDAY MORNING AND CONTINUE INTO FRIDAY NIGHT.
STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS WILL RANGE FROM 8 TO 16 INCHES WITH
SOME LOCATIONS RECEIVING AS MUCH AS 20 INCHES. NORTHERLY WINDS WILL
ALSO INCREASE LATE THURSDAY AND PERSIST THROUGH THE DURATION OF
THE STORM. WIND SPEEDS RANGING FROM 25 TO 40 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS
ARE POSSIBLE. THIS SNOW COMBINED WITH THE STRONG NORTH WINDS WILL
RESULT IN WHITEOUT CONDITIONS AT TIMES ALONG WITH HEAVY DRIFTING
SNOW. THE SNOW AND WINDS WILL DIMINISH SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT
AS THE RESPONSIBLE SURFACE LOW PRESSURE AREA LIFTS SLOWLY AWAY
FROM THE REGION. THE WINTER STORM WARNING WILL CONTINUE THROUGH
SATURDAY MORNING.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
NO SPOTTER ACTIVATION ANTICIPATED.

KRAMLICH

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Grant

When: December 23, 7:00 PM CST to December 26, 11:00 PM CST
Where: Grant forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 45.172, -96.768 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Deuel

When: December 23, 7:00 PM CST to December 26, 11:00 PM CST
Where: Deuel forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
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 2009 Every state in 2009 This day in weather history Warnings in South Dakota, December 2009

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: 206873, 206874.