South Dakota, 2023

Blizzard and Winter Storm in South Dakota, December 25 to 27, 2023

December 25 to 27, 2023 · NWS UNR · 24 events in 24 counties and zones

An intense low pressure system developed over the central Plains and only slowly moved east-northeast across the region during the Christmas holiday period. Heavy snow developed from south-central South Dakota, west-northwest into the northern Black Hills area.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 24 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
24

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.

An intense low pressure system developed over the central Plains and only slowly moved east-northeast across the region during the Christmas holiday period. Heavy snow developed from south-central South Dakota, west-northwest into the northern Black Hills area. Strong winds on the plains produced blowing snow and blizzard conditions at times across much of the southwest into central South Dakota plains. Snowfall amounts of 6 to 15 inches were noted over a good portion of southwest and south-central South Dakota and the northern Black Hills area, with locally higher amounts. Snowfall amounts tailed off quite a bit into northwest South Dakota, especially far northwest South Dakota. Amounts were also less in downslope favored areas of the eastern/southeastern Black Hills and adjacent plains. Travel was very difficult to near impossible in some areas, with Interstate 90 east of Rapid City closed for an extended period on December 26th into the 27th.

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 Dec 25, 5:49 AM CST, 1 hour 11 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 25, 5:49 AM CST, 1 hour 11 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 25, 6:59 AM CST, 1 minute before
Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Rapid City SD
559 AM MST Mon Dec 25 2023

SDZ001-002-012>014-024>032-041>044-046-047-049-072>078-WYZ054>060-
261300-
Harding-Northern Perkins-Butte-Northern Meade Co Plains-Ziebach-
Northern Black Hills-Northern Foothills-Rapid City-
Southern Foothills-Central Black Hills-Southern Black Hills-
Custer Co Plains-Pennington Co Plains-Haakon-Western Fall River-
Northern Oglala Lakota-Northern Jackson-Bennett-Mellette-Todd-
Tripp-Sturgis/Piedmont Foothills-Southern Meade Co Plains-
Hermosa Foothills-Eastern Fall River-Southern Oglala Lakota-
Southern Jackson-Southern Perkins-Northern Campbell-
Southern Campbell-Western Crook-Wyoming Black Hills-
Weston County Plains-Newcastle-Northeastern Crook-
559 AM MST Mon Dec 25 2023 /659 AM CST Mon Dec 25 2023/

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of western South
Dakota and northeastern Wyoming.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight

A strong winter storm will bring snow to parts of central South
Dakota this afternoon and parts of western South Dakota tonight.
Blizzard conditions are expected. Refer to the latest FSDWSWUNR
product for details.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday

The winter storm will continue through Tuesday, then wind down
through Wednesday. Refer to the latest FSDWSWUNR product for
details.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation will not be needed today.

&&

Stay tuned to NOAA weather radio for further updates...or check
our web site at weather.gov/rapidcity

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

15 blizzard, 6 winter storm, 3 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Tripp

When
December 25, 7:00 AM CST to December 27, 2:00 AM CST
Where
Tripp forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
43.346, -99.884 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Mellette

When
December 25, 8:00 AM CST to December 27, 12:00 AM CST
Where
Mellette forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.581, -100.760 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Todd

When
December 25, 8:00 AM CST to December 27, 1:00 AM CST
Where
Todd forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
43.193, -100.718 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Bennett

When
December 25, 12:00 PM MST to December 26, 10:00 PM MST
Where
Bennett forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
43.195, -101.664 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Southern Jackson

When
December 25, 2:00 PM MST to December 26, 11:00 PM MST
Where
Southern Jackson forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.694, -101.628 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Northern Jackson

When
December 25, 3:00 PM MST to December 26, 11:00 PM MST
Where
Northern Jackson forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.694, -101.628 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Haakon

When
December 25, 4:00 PM MST to December 26, 9:00 PM MST
Where
Haakon forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.294, -101.540 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Northern Oglala Lakota

When
December 25, 5:00 PM MST to December 26, 9:00 PM MST
Where
Northern Oglala Lakota forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.336, -102.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Southern Oglala Lakota

When
December 25, 5:00 PM MST to December 26, 9:00 PM MST
Where
Southern Oglala Lakota forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
43.336, -102.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Butte

When
December 25, 6:00 PM MST to December 26, 8:00 PM MST
Where
Butte forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.906, -103.508 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Northern Meade Co Plains

When
December 25, 6:00 PM MST to December 26, 12:00 PM MST
Where
Northern Meade Co Plains forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.567, -102.717 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Ziebach

When
December 25, 6:00 PM MST to December 26, 12:00 PM MST
Where
Ziebach forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
44.980, -101.666 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Southern Foothills

When
December 25, 6:00 PM MST to December 26, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Southern Foothills forecast zone
Reported by
CoCoRaHS
Coordinates
43.239, -103.528 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Custer Co Plains

When
December 25, 6:00 PM MST to December 26, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Custer Co Plains forecast zone
Reported by
CoCoRaHS
Coordinates
43.678, -103.451 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Pennington Co Plains

When
December 25, 6:00 PM MST to December 26, 9:00 PM MST
Where
Pennington Co Plains forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
44.004, -102.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Eastern Fall River

When
December 25, 6:00 PM MST to December 26, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Eastern Fall River forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
43.239, -103.528 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Southern Meade Co Plains

When
December 25, 6:00 PM MST to December 26, 11:00 PM MST
Where
Southern Meade Co Plains forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
44.567, -102.717 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Southern Perkins

When
December 25, 7:00 PM MST to December 26, 9:00 AM MST
Where
Southern Perkins forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
45.491, -102.476 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Southern Black Hills

When
December 25, 7:00 PM MST to December 26, 6:00 PM MST
Where
Southern Black Hills forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.678, -103.451 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northern Black Hills

When
December 25, 8:00 PM MST to December 27, 12:00 AM MST
Where
Northern Black Hills forecast zone
Reported by
CoCoRaHS
Coordinates
44.310, -103.111 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Northern Foothills

When
December 25, 8:00 PM MST to December 26, 10:00 PM MST
Where
Northern Foothills forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
44.359, -103.792 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Rapid City

When
December 25, 8:00 PM MST to December 26, 8:00 PM MST
Where
Rapid City forecast zone
Reported by
CoCoRaHS
Coordinates
44.004, -102.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Sturgis-Piedmont Foothills

When
December 25, 8:00 PM MST to December 26, 8:00 PM MST
Where
Sturgis-Piedmont Foothills forecast zone
Reported by
NWS Employee
Coordinates
44.567, -102.717 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Central Black Hills

When
December 25, 10:00 PM MST to December 26, 8:00 PM MST
Where
Central Black Hills forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
43.841, -103.137 (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.
Winter Storm
A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in South Dakota in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in South Dakota, December 2023

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: 1147662, 1147659, 1147661, 1147658, 1147655, 1147654, 1147647, 1147652, 1147653, 1147630, 1147631, 1147632, 1147638, 1147644, 1147646, 1147651, 1147665, 1147628, 1147642, 1147633, 1147634, 1147635, 1147663, 1147639.