A prolonged snowfall became moderate to heavy on January 31st in Brookings, Lake, and Moody Counties with total accumulations of 6 to 10 inches. There were some areas of blowing snow as winds increased.
Every event with a place to put it; 18 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS FSD wrote it up.
A prolonged snowfall became moderate to heavy on January 31st in Brookings, Lake, and Moody Counties with total accumulations of 6 to 10 inches. There were some areas of blowing snow as winds increased. Lesser amounts of snow fell further west and south in southeast South Dakota.
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 30, 9:38 PM CST, 2 hours 22 minutes earlier.
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</html>HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD 1059 AM CST SUN JAN 30 2011 SDZ038>040-050-052>071-MNZ071-072-080-081-089-090-097-098- IAZ001>003-012>014-020>022-031-032-NEZ013-014-311200- 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- 1059 AM CST SUN JAN 30 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST SOUTH DAKOTA... SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA...NORTHWEST IOWA...AND NORTHEAST NEBRASKA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT WINTER WEATHER... LIGHT SNOW WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON IN AREAS GENERALLY NORTH OF A CHAMBERLAIN TO MARSHALL LINE. LIGHT SNOW WILL THEN SPREAD EAST TO SOUTHEASTWARD TONIGHT...BECOMING MODERATE AT TIMES IN EAST CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA AND INTO THE NORTHERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS TONIGHT WILL RANGE FROM 3 TO 6 INCHES ALONG THE HIGHWAY 14 CORRIDOR...TO LESS THAN AN INCH AT SIOUX CITY AND STORM LAKE IOWA. THE I 90 CORRIDOR SHOULD RECEIVE 1 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY LIGHT TO BRIEFLY MODERATE SNOWFALL WILL PERSIST MONDAY INTO MONDAY NIGHT...GRADUALLY TAPERING OFF LATER MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY FROM THE NORTH. ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL FROM 3 TO 5 INCHES IS EXPECTED...WITH GREATEST AMOUNTS ACROSS NORTHWEST IOWA. WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE... A FLUFFY ACCUMULATION FROM 6 TO 10 INCHES WILL BE WIDESPREAD ACROSS THE AREA FROM SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY. IN ADDITION TO THE SNOW...NORTHERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY ACROSS THE AREA. THESE WINDS WILL PRODUCE AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW...ESPECIALLY ACROSS NORTHWEST IOWA AND ADJOINING AREAS LATER MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY. VISIBILITIES IN OPEN AREAS...ESPECIALLY AT TIMES OF FALLING SNOW...WILL LIKELY BE A HALF MILE OR LESS. TEMPERATURES WILL REALLY START TO PLUNGE TUESDAY INTO TUESDAY NIGHT. WITH SKIES CLEARING...TEMPERATURES AND WINDS WILL COMBINE TO PRODUCE WIDESPREAD DANGEROUS WIND CHILLS FROM 30 BELOW TO 40 BELOW ZERO TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MORNING. .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.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
15 winter weather, 3 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Snow produced accumulations of 4 to 7 inches, including 6.6 inches at Huron. Winds gusting to over 30 mph caused some areas of blowing and drifting snow.
Snow produced accumulations of 3 to 6 inches. Winds gusting to over 30 mph caused some areas of blowing and drifting snow.
Snow produced accumulations of 3 to 6 inches. Winds gusting to over 30 mph caused some areas of blowing and drifting snow.
Snow produced accumulations of 4 to 7 inches, including 7 inches at Chamberlain. Winds gusting to over 30 mph caused some areas of blowing and drifting snow.
Snow produced accumulations of 4 to 7 inches, including 7 inches at White Lake. Winds gusting to over 30 mph caused some areas of blowing and drifting snow.
Snow produced accumulations of 3 to 6 inches. Winds gusting to over 30 mph caused some areas of blowing and drifting snow.
Snow produced accumulations of 4 to 7 inches. Winds gusting to over 30 mph caused some areas of blowing and drifting snow.
Snow produced accumulations of 4 to 7 inches, including 6.6 inches at Carthage. Winds gusting to over 30 mph caused some areas of blowing and drifting snow.
Snow produced accumulations of 3 to 6 inches. Winds gusting to over 30 mph caused some areas of blowing and drifting snow.
Snow produced accumulations of 4 to 7 inches, including 6.5 inches 5 miles northeast of Salem. Winds gusting to over 30 mph caused some areas of blowing and drifting snow.
Snow produced accumulations of 4 to 7 inches, including 6 inches at Hartford. Winds gusting to over 30 mph caused some areas of blowing and drifting snow.
Snow produced accumulations of 3 to 6 inches, including 6 inches near Sioux Falls. Winds gusting to over 30 mph caused some areas of blowing and drifting snow.
Snowfall of 7 to 10 inches included light accumulations which fell before and after the heavy snow during the daytime hours of January 31st. A 10 inch accumulation was reported at Brookings. Winds gusting to over 30 mph caused areas of blowing and drifting snow. Travel was made difficult at times, and some schools and businesses closed.
Snowfall of 5 to 8 inches included light accumulations which fell before and after the heavy snow during the daytime hours of January 31st. A 6 inch accumulation was reported at Madison. Winds gusting to over 30 mph caused areas of blowing and drifting snow. Travel was made difficult at times, and some schools and businesses closed.
Snowfall of 6 to 10 inches included light accumulations which fell before and after the heavy snow during the daytime hours of January 31st. Winds gusting to over 30 mph caused areas of blowing and drifting snow. Travel was made difficult at times, and some schools and businesses closed.
Light snow and areas of blowing snow lingered through the evening after heavy snow decreased during the day.
Light snow and areas of blowing snow lingered through the evening after heavy snow decreased during the day.
Light snow and areas of blowing snow lingered through the evening after heavy snow decreased during the day.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in South Dakota in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, January 2011
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: 281170, 281171, 281172, 281173, 281174, 281175, 281176, 281179, 281180, 281181, 281182, 281183, 280729, 280730, 280731, 280733, 280734, 280735.