South Dakota, 2019

Blizzard in South Dakota, December 29, 2019

December 29, 2019 · NWS ABR · 14 events in 14 counties and zones

A winter storm turned into a blizzard for much of the region as strong winds developed as an intensifying area of low pressure moved into the southern half of Minnesota. This led to wind gusts of 50 to over 60 mph creating blizzard conditions from the Missouri River east to the James River Valley/western edge of the Sisseton Hills.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 14 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
14

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 winter storm turned into a blizzard for much of the region as strong winds developed as an intensifying area of low pressure moved into the southern half of Minnesota. This led to wind gusts of 50 to over 60 mph creating blizzard conditions from the Missouri River east to the James River Valley/western edge of the Sisseton Hills. The combination of the snow and blowing snow severely impacted road conditions and travel across the region. No Travel Advised was designated for most all state and county roads and even the closure of I-90 and I-29 in parts of South Dakota.

Some accidents occurred along with several vehicles sliding into the ditch. Many events were postponed or cancelled along with many state office openings delayed on Monday, December 30th. The heavy snow and blizzard winds brought power outages to almost a thousand people in northeast South Dakota. Snowfall amounts ranged from 6 to as much as 20 inches as the blizzard subsided and the snow ended early on the 30th. See the storm data entry for the winter storm.

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 28, 5:42 PM CST, 15 hours 18 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 28, 5:42 PM CST, 15 hours 18 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 28, 2:30 PM CST, 18 hours 30 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

14 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Spink

When
December 29, 9:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Spink forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.938, -98.346 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, McPherson

When
December 29, 10:00 AM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where
McPherson forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.766, -99.221 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Brown

When
December 29, 10:30 AM CST to 4:45 PM CST
Where
Brown forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
45.590, -98.352 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Hyde

When
December 29, 12:00 PM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where
Hyde forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.547, -99.487 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Clark

When
December 29, 12:00 PM CST to 3:00 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, Edmunds

When
December 29, 12:30 PM CST to 11:30 PM CST
Where
Edmunds forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.419, -99.215 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Faulk

When
December 29, 12:30 PM CST to 10:30 PM CST
Where
Faulk forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.071, -99.145 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Hand

When
December 29, 12:30 PM CST to 10:00 PM CST
Where
Hand forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.548, -99.005 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Marshall

When
December 29, 12:30 PM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where
Marshall forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
45.759, -97.598 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Walworth

When
December 29, 12:45 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where
Walworth forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.430, -100.032 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Potter

When
December 29, 12:45 PM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where
Potter forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.065, -99.957 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Sully

When
December 29, 1:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where
Sully forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
44.716, -100.132 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Day

When
December 29, 1:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where
Day forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.367, -97.607 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Campbell

When
December 29, 1:30 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where
Campbell forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
45.771, -100.052 (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

More

Every storm in South Dakota in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, December 2019

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: 870223, 870217, 870222, 870220, 870226, 870218, 870219, 870221, 870224, 870214, 870215, 870216, 870225, 870213.