Blizzard in South Dakota, December 30, 2010

Name: Blizzard in South Dakota, December 30, 2010
Start: 2010-12-30T10:00
End: 2010-12-30T21:00
Location: South Dakota

December 30, 2010 · NWS ABR · 26 events in 26 counties and zones

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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.

A strong upper level low pressure trough and associated surface low pressure area moved across the region bringing the first of two consecutive blizzards to central and northeast South Dakota. Snowfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches combined with bitter cold north winds of 25 to 40 mph caused widespread blizzard conditions across central and northeast South Dakota from the late morning until the evening hours. Near zero visibilities caused dangerous travel conditions resulting in the closing of Interstates 29 and 90 along with several highways across the region. Several hundred people were stranded as a result of the storm. A group of fishermen had to be rescued in Day county when they became stranded on the ice. The snowfall began across the area anywhere from 7 to 11 am CST and ended between 10 pm and 1 am CST.

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 30, 4:08 AM CST, 5 hours 52 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 30, 4:08 AM CST, 5 hours 52 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 30, 4:23 AM CST, 5 hours 37 minutes before

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In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 30, 7:13 AM CST, 2 hours 47 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
713 AM CST THU DEC 30 2010

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0705 AM     DENSE FOG        MINA                    45.44N 98.76W
12/30/2010                   EDMUNDS            SD   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            FREEZING RAIN CAUSING SLICK ROADS. LESS THAN 1/4 MILE
            VISIBILITY.

&&

NWS

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

26 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, McPherson

When: December 30, 10:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: McPherson forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 45.766, -99.221 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Brown

When: December 30, 10:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where: Brown forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 45.590, -98.352 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Corson

When: December 30, 11:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Corson forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 45.709, -101.197 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Dewey

When: December 30, 11:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Dewey forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 45.157, -100.872 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Campbell

When: December 30, 11:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Campbell forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 45.771, -100.052 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Walworth

When: December 30, 11:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Walworth forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 45.430, -100.032 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Potter

When: December 30, 11:00 AM CST to 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, Edmunds

When: December 30, 11:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Edmunds forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 45.419, -99.215 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Faulk

When: December 30, 11:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Faulk forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 45.071, -99.145 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Stanley

When: December 30, 11:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Stanley forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 44.412, -100.736 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Hughes

When: December 30, 11:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Hughes forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 44.389, -99.996 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Hyde

When: December 30, 11:00 AM CST to 6:00 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, Hand

When: December 30, 11:00 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Hand forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 44.548, -99.005 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Spink

When: December 30, 11:00 AM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where: Spink forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 44.938, -98.346 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Marshall

When: December 30, 11:00 AM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where: Marshall forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 45.759, -97.598 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Day

When: December 30, 11:00 AM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where: Day forecast zone
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 45.367, -97.607 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Roberts

When: December 30, 11:30 AM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where: Roberts forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 45.630, -96.946 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Grant

When: December 30, 11:30 AM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where: Grant forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 45.172, -96.768 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Deuel

When: December 30, 11:30 AM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where: Deuel forecast zone
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 44.760, -96.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Jones

When: December 30, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Jones forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 43.961, -100.690 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Lyman

When: December 30, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Lyman forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 43.896, -99.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Sully

When: December 30, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Sully forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 44.716, -100.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Buffalo

When: December 30, 12:00 PM CST to 6:00 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, Clark

When: December 30, 12:00 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where: Clark forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 44.858, -97.729 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Codington

When: December 30, 12:30 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where: Codington forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 44.978, -97.189 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Hamlin

When: December 30, 12:30 PM CST to 7:00 PM CST
Where: Hamlin forecast zone
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 44.674, -97.188 (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 2010 Every state in 2010 This day in weather history Warnings in South Dakota, December 2010

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: 273301, 274358, 273295, 273296, 273297, 273298, 273299, 273300, 273302, 273303, 273307, 273308, 273309, 274362, 274367, 274368, 274385, 274387, 274390, 273304, 273305, 273306, 273311, 274369, 274373, 274379.