Heavy Snow in South Dakota, March 22 to 23, 2011

Name: Heavy Snow in South Dakota, March 22 to 23, 2011
Start: 2011-03-22T19:30
End: 2011-03-23T14:00
Location: South Dakota

March 22 to 23, 2011 · NWS ABR · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

An upper level low pressure area moving across the region brought 6 to 14 inches of snowfall across northeast South Dakota. Some snowfall amounts include, 6 inches at Groton, Clark, Clear Lake, and Stratford; 7 inches at Victor and Roy Lake; 8 inches at Sisseton and Webster; 9 inches at Britton; 10 inches at Waubay and Big Stone City; 11 inches at Summit and Milbank; and 14 inches at Wilmot.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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: 7

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.

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 Mar 22, 2:49 PM CST, 4 hours 41 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 22, 2:49 PM CST, 4 hours 41 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 22, 3:32 AM CST, 15 hours 58 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ABERDEEN SD
432 AM CDT TUE MAR 22 2011

MNZ039-046-SDZ007-008-011-021-230945-
TRAVERSE-BIG STONE-MARSHALL-ROBERTS-DAY-GRANT-
432 AM CDT TUE MAR 22 2011

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TODAY. WHILE
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL
COULD EXACERBATE ANY ONGOING FLOOD ISSUES. PRECIPITATION WILL
CHANGE OVER TO SNOW LATER THIS EVENING. SNOW COULD BECOME MODERATE
TO HEAVY AT TIMES DURING THE EARLY MORNING HOURS ON WEDNESDAY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY
LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY ON
WEDNESDAY. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF 3 TO 6 INCHES COULD BE POSSIBLE FOR
LOCATIONS ALONG AND NORTH OF HIGHWAY 12 BY WEDNESDAY EVENING.
LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS OF 5 TO 8 INCHES COULD BE POSSIBLE FOR
LOCATIONS ALONG THE NORTH DAKOTA...SOUTH DAKOTA BORDER.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT.

SDZ003>006-009-010-015>020-022-023-033>037-045-048-051-230945-
CORSON-CAMPBELL-MCPHERSON-BROWN-WALWORTH-EDMUNDS-DEWEY-POTTER-
FAULK-SPINK-CLARK-CODINGTON-HAMLIN-DEUEL-STANLEY-SULLY-HUGHES-
HYDE-HAND-JONES-LYMAN-BUFFALO-
432 AM CDT TUE MAR 22 2011 /332 AM MDT TUE MAR 22 2011/

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TODAY. WHILE
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED...LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL
COULD EXACERBATE ANY ONGOING FLOOD ISSUES. PRECIPITATION WILL
SLOWLY TRANSITION OVER TO ALL SNOW BY WEDNESDAY MORNING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY
LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOW IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY ON
WEDNESDAY. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES COULD BE POSSIBLE BY
WEDNESDAY EVENING.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED TODAY OR TONIGHT.

SD

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Mar 22, 1:38 PM CST, 5 hours 52 minutes before

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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Brown

When: March 22, 7:30 PM CST to March 23, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Brown forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 45.590, -98.352 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Marshall

When: March 22, 8:00 PM CST to March 23, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Marshall forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 45.759, -97.598 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Day

When: March 22, 8:00 PM CST to March 23, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Day forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 45.367, -97.607 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Clark

When: March 22, 10:00 PM CST to March 23, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Clark forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 44.858, -97.729 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Roberts

When: March 22, 10:00 PM CST to March 23, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Roberts forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 45.630, -96.946 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Grant

When: March 22, 10:00 PM CST to March 23, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Grant forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 45.172, -96.768 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Deuel

When: March 22, 10:00 PM CST to March 23, 2:00 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

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 292433, 292435, 292436, 292437, 292438, 292439, 292441.