Blizzard and Winter Weather in South Dakota, January 12, 2009

Name: Blizzard and Winter Weather in South Dakota, January 12, 2009
Start: 2009-01-12T09:00
End: 2009-01-12T21:00
Location: South Dakota

January 12, 2009 · NWS FSD · 21 events in 20 counties and zones

Strong north to northwest winds, gusting to over 50 mph, combined with existing loose snow cover and 1 to 3 inches of new snow to produce blizzard conditions with widespread visibilities near zero over parts of southeast South Dakota during the day and early evening of January 12th. The very low visibilities were widespread where the greatest loose snow cover was located, and more localized in…

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 21 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: 21

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.

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 Jan 12, 4:45 AM CST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 12, 4:45 AM CST, 4 hours 15 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, Jan 12, 5:27 AM CST, 3 hours 33 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
0527 AM CST MON JAN 12 2009

SDZ038>040-050-052>071-MNZ071-072-080-081-089-090-097-098-
IAZ001>003-012>014-020>022-031-032-NEZ013-014-131200-
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-
0527 AM CST MON JAN 12 2009

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

WINTER WEATHER...
SNOW WILL CONTINUE TO FALL THROUGHOUT THE DAY ON MONDAY...MAINLY
EAST OF A LINE FROM BROOKINGS SOUTH DAKOTA TO STORM LAKE IOWA.
LIGHT SNOW MAY REDEVELOP DURING THE DAY WEST OF THIS AREA BUT
SHOULD TOTAL LESS THAN ONE INCH. STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS ARE
EXPECTED TO BE HEAVIEST EAST OF THE JAMES RIVER VALLEY WHERE
SNOWFALL AMOUNTS WILL RANGE FROM ONE TO FOUR INCHES...WITH THE
HEAVIEST SNOW EXPECTED TO BE NEAR THE BUFFALO RIDGE IN MINNESOTA.
NORTHWEST WINDS WILL ALSO INCREASE IN THE MORNING ACROSS THE
ENTIRE REGION...WITH WINDS EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM 25 TO 40 MPH
DURING THE LATE MORNING AND AFTERNOON. THE FRESH SNOWFALL ALONG
THE BUFFALO RIDGE COMBINED WITH STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS WILL
CREATE BLIZZARD CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON INTO EARLY THIS
EVENING. AS TEMPERATURES FALL BELOW ZERO MONDAY NIGHT...WIND
CHILL READINGS WILL PLUMMET TO 20 TO 30 BELOW.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

A BAND OF LIGHT SNOW WILL SPREAD FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE
REGION TUESDAY INTO TUESDAY EVENING.  SNOWFALL AMOUNTS WILL
GENERALLY TOTAL LESS THAN ONE INCH.

ANOTHER ARCTIC FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA ON WEDNESDAY
MORNING. WINDS OF 2O TO 35 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED BEHIND THE FRONT.
THESE WINDS MAY CAUSE AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW WEDNESDAY AND
WEDNESDAY NIGHT. IN ADDITION...AS TEMPERATURES FALL TO NEAR ZERO
DURING THE DAY...WIND CHILLS OF 15 TO 35 BELOW ZERO CAN EXPECTED.
THE COLDEST READINGS WILL BE IN SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY AND TONIGHT.

&&

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

BT

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 12, 6:46 AM CST, 2 hours 14 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>

Local storm report, Jan 12, 7:55 AM CST, 1 hour 5 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

11 winter weather, 10 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Beadle

When: January 12, 9:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Beadle forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 44.415, -98.278 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

North to northwest winds sustained at 30 to 40 mph with gusts over 50 mph combined with several inches of loose snow cover, along with 1 to 3 inches of new snow, to produce widespread visibilities of a quarter mile or less in blowing snow. The low visibilities and drifting snow made travel impossible in many areas, and forced schools and businesses to close.

Blizzard, Sanborn

When: January 12, 9:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Sanborn forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 44.023, -98.091 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Jerauld

When: January 12, 9:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Jerauld forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 44.066, -98.630 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

North to northwest winds gusting to around 50 mph, existing snow cover, and 1 to 2 inches of new snow produced areas of blowing snow with local visibilities below a quarter mile. A peak wind gust of 56 mph was recorded in the northwestern part of Jerauld County, 15 miles northwest of Wessington Springs.

Winter Weather, Aurora

When: January 12, 9:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Aurora forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 43.718, -98.561 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

North to northwest winds gusting to around 50 mph, existing snow cover, and 1 to 2 inches of new snow produced areas of blowing snow with local visibilities below a quarter mile.

Winter Weather, Davison

When: January 12, 9:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Davison forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.675, -98.146 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Douglas

When: January 12, 9:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Douglas forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 43.387, -98.366 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

North to northwest winds gusting to around 50 mph, existing snow cover, and 1 to 2 inches of new snow produced areas of blowing snow with local visibilities below a quarter mile.

Blizzard, Kingsbury

When: January 12, 10:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Kingsbury forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 44.370, -97.491 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Miner

When: January 12, 10:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Miner forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 44.022, -97.610 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Hanson

When: January 12, 10:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Hanson forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 43.675, -97.787 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

North to northwest winds gusting to around 50 mph, existing snow cover, and 1 to 2 inches of new snow produced areas of blowing snow with local visibilities below a quarter mile.

Winter Weather, McCook

When: January 12, 11:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: McCook forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 43.674, -97.368 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

North to northwest winds gusting to around 50 mph, existing snow cover, and 1 to 2 inches of new snow produced areas of blowing snow with local visibilities below a quarter mile.

Winter Weather, Hutchinson

When: January 12, 11:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Hutchinson forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 43.335, -97.754 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

North to northwest winds gusting to around 50 mph, existing snow cover, and 1 to 2 inches of new snow produced areas of blowing snow with local visibilities below a quarter mile.

Blizzard, Lake

When: January 12, 12:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Lake forecast zone
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 44.022, -97.129 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Brookings

When: January 12, 12:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Brookings forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 44.370, -96.790 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Moody

When: January 12, 12:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Moody forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 44.022, -96.671 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Bon Homme

When: January 12, 12:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Bon Homme forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 42.988, -97.885 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

North to northwest winds gusting to around 50 mph, existing snow cover, and 1 to 2 inches of new snow produced areas of blowing snow with local visibilities below a quarter mile.

Winter Weather, McCook

When: January 12, 12:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: McCook forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 43.674, -97.368 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

North to northwest winds gusting to around 50 mph, existing snow cover, and 1 to 2 inches of new snow produced areas of blowing snow with local visibilities below a quarter mile.

Winter Weather, Minnehaha

When: January 12, 12:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Minnehaha forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 43.674, -96.791 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

North to northwest winds gusting to around 50 mph, existing snow cover, and 1 to 2 inches of new snow produced areas of blowing snow with local visibilities below a quarter mile.

Winter Weather, Lincoln

When: January 12, 1:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 43.279, -96.722 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

North to northwest winds gusting to around 50 mph, existing snow cover, and 1 to 2 inches of new snow produced areas of blowing snow with local visibilities below a quarter mile.

Blizzard, Yankton

When: January 12, 2:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Yankton forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 43.009, -97.395 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Clay

When: January 12, 2:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Clay forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 42.915, -96.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Union

When: January 12, 2:00 PM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Union forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 42.833, -96.656 (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.
Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in South Dakota in 2009 Every state in 2009 This day in weather history Warnings in South Dakota, January 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: 149886, 149887, 149896, 149897, 149898, 149899, 149888, 149889, 149900, 149901, 149902, 149890, 149891, 149892, 149903, 149904, 149905, 149906, 149893, 149894, 149895.