High Wind in South Dakota, March 11, 2011

Name: High Wind in South Dakota, March 11, 2011
Start: 2011-03-11T06:00
End: 2011-03-11T18:00
Location: South Dakota

March 11, 2011 · NWS UNR · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

A strong cold front passed through the area during the early morning. Northwest winds increased behind the front, with the strongest winds across far northwestern South Dakota.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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 UNR wrote it up.

A strong cold front passed through the area during the early morning. Northwest winds increased behind the front, with the strongest winds across far northwestern South Dakota. Sustained winds of 35 to 50 mph and gusts around 60 mph were recorded.

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 Rapid City, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 11, 5:42 AM MST, 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 11, 5:42 AM MST, 18 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR WESTERN SD AND NORTHEASTERN WY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RAPID CITY SD
542 AM MST FRI MAR 11 2011

.DISCUSSION...12Z SURFACE ANALYSIS HAS LOW IN WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA
WITH COLD FRONT ENTERING WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA. STRONG SHORTWAVE IS
CURRENTLY MOVING INTO THE HIGH PLAINS...WITH SOME CONVECTION
ASSOCIATED WITH IT. RADAR SHOWING SOME RETURNS ACROSS FAR
NORTHWEST SOUTH DAKOTA. WINDS ARE BREEZY AT MOST LOCATIONS AND
TEMPERATURES ARE QUITE MILD WITH READINGS IN THE 40S.

STRONG SHORTWAVE WILL ZIP ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS TODAY. LATEST
GUIDANCE HAS BACKED OFF ON WINDS A BIT...BUT STILL REMAIN EASILY
IN THE ADVISORY CATEGORY. MODEST COLD ADVECTION (MORE WESTERLY
COMPONENT) WITH 850MB WINDS OF 40-50KTS WILL MAKE FOR VERY WINDY
CONDITIONS ACROSS NORTHWEST SOUTH DAKOTA. A LOT OF SNOW STILL
REMAINS ACROSS NORTHWEST SOUTH DAKOTA...WITH THE TOP LAYER STILL
PRETTY LOOSE...SO SOME AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW ARE POSSIBLE.

AS FAR AS PRECIPITATION...BEST FORCING REMAINS NORTH OF THE
FORECAST AREA...HOWEVER STEEP AND MOIST MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES WILL
RESULT IN SOME PRECIPITATION ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM KGCC-
KD07. 03Z SREF PTYPE SUGGESTS MAINLY RAIN INITIALLY...WITH SNOW
FOLLOWING QUICKLY. WITH STRONG SUBSIDENCE BEHIND THE FRONT BY THE
AFTERNOON...PRECIPITATION SHOULD BE LIMITED TO UPSLOPE AREAS OF
THE NORTHERN BLACK HILLS...WITH SOME ISOLATED SHOWERS ACROSS THE
NORTHWEST.

HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS ACROSS THE DAKOTAS TONIGHT INTO SATURDAY.
SOME COOLER CANADIAN AIR WILL PERSIST ACROSS THE SOUTH DAKOTA
PLAINS. HIGHS WILL RANGE FROM THE 20S TO THE LOWER 40S OVER
SOUTHWESTERN LOCATIONS. WEAK SHORTWAVE MOVES ACROSS THE AREA
SATURDAY NIGHT...BRINGING A CHANCE OF SNOW TO PARTS OF THE AREA.

WARMER AIR WILL BEGIN TO WORK BACK INTO THE AREA ON SUNDAY AS
UPPER FLOW BECOMES MORE ZONAL. HIGHS IN THE 30S TO MID 40S
EXPECTED.

EXTENDED...ZONAL FLOW ALOFT WILL BRING MOSTLY DRY CONDITIONS AND
NEAR TO ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. WEAK
UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA...BRINGING
OCCASIONAL CLOUDINESS AND LOW CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION. A MORE
UNSETTLED PATTERN IS EXPECTED LATE IN WEEK.

AVIATION...GUSTY SWRLY WINDS WILL CONT EARLY THIS MORN INVOF BLKHLS
AND OVER NE WY AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT. BEHIND THE
FRONT...WINDS WILL BECOME NWRLY AND GUSTY ACROSS THE AREA. SHSNRA
WITH ARE EXPECTED MAINLY OVER NE WY...NW SD AND OVER THE NRN BLKHLS
TODAY...BRINGING LCL IFR VIS. CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE TO VFR BY
TONIGHT. OVER REMAINING AREAS...MAINLY VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED.

&&

.UNR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
SD...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON FOR BUTTE-HAAKON-
     HARDING-NORTHERN FOOT HILLS-NORTHERN MEADE CO PLAINS-
     PENNINGTON CO PLAINS-PERKINS-RAPID CITY-SOUTHERN MEADE CO
     PLAINS-STURGIS/PIEDMONT FOOT HILLS-ZIEBACH.

WY...NONE.
&&

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Butte

When: March 11, 6:00 AM MST to 9:00 AM MST
Where: Butte forecast zone
Measured: 51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 44.906, -103.508 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Harding

When: March 11, 6:00 AM MST to 5:00 PM MST
Where: Harding forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 45.580, -103.496 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Northern Meade Co Plains

When: March 11, 7:00 AM MST to 4:00 PM MST
Where: Northern Meade Co Plains forecast zone
Measured: 40 kt (46 mph) measured sustained
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 44.567, -102.717 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Perkins

When: March 11, 8:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: Perkins forecast zone
Measured: 41 kt (47 mph) measured sustained
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 45.491, -102.476 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Ziebach

When: March 11, 8:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: Ziebach forecast zone
Measured: 38 kt (44 mph) measured sustained
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 44.980, -101.666 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in South Dakota in 2011 Every state in 2011 This day in weather history Warnings in South Dakota, March 2011

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 285248, 285296, 285249, 285247, 285250.