High Wind and Winter Weather in South Dakota, December 28 to 29, 2025

Name: High Wind and Winter Weather in South Dakota, December 28 to 29, 2025
Start: 2025-12-28T02:00
End: 2025-12-29T03:00
Location: South Dakota

December 28 to 29, 2025 · NWS FSD · 9 events in 8 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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: 9

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 FSD wrote it up.

A potent winter storm moved from Kansas northeastward to the Great Lakes on December 28 into the morning hours of December 29. The system brought a leading and more prominent band of snowfall during the morning and midday on December 28, followed by a break in precipitation. As the system deepened during the evening, the band of snowfall wrapped back southward through far eastern South Dakota, southwest Minnesota, and northwest Iowa. When the current and previous snow combined with winds gusting from 40 to 60 mph, widespread blizzard conditions developed from southwest Minnesota into northwest Iowa. State Departments of Transportation advised no travel across southern Minnesota and portions of Iowa from late morning on the 28th through mid-morning of the 29th. Numerous roadways were closed due to numerous crashes. Total snowfall reached as high as 2 to 5 inches in much of southwest Minnesota into northwest Iowa, with 1 to 2 inches along the Missouri River and Interstate 29 corridors and lesser amounts toward the mid James River valley.

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 Sioux Falls, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 27, 10:45 PM CST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 27, 10:45 PM CST, 3 hours 15 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 27, 2:41 PM CST, 11 hours 19 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD
241 PM CST Sat Dec 27 2025

IAZ001>003-012>014-020>022-031-032-MNZ071-072-080-081-089-090-097-
098-NEZ013-014-SDZ038>040-050-052>071-282045-
Lyon-Osceola-Dickinson-Sioux-O'Brien-Clay-Plymouth-Cherokee-
Buena Vista-Woodbury-Ida-Lincoln-Murray-Cottonwood-Nobles-Jackson-
Pipestone-Rock-Dixon-Dakota-Beadle-Kingsbury-Brookings-Gregory-
Jerauld-Sanborn-Miner-Lake-Moody-Brule-Aurora-Davison-Hanson-
McCook-Minnehaha-Charles Mix-Douglas-Hutchinson-Turner-Bon Homme-
Yankton-Union-
241 PM CST Sat Dec 27 2025

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of northwest Iowa,
west central Iowa, southwest Minnesota, northeast Nebraska,
central South Dakota, east central South Dakota, south central
South Dakota, and southeast South Dakota.

.DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight

Dense fog is likely to redevelop near and especially east of I-29
tonight. Most of the dense fog will dissipate between 3 am and 6
am.

Northwest winds will begin gusting to 35 to 50 mph near and west
of I-29 shortly before sunrise Sunday morning. Snow will also
begin to fall near and west of I-29 during this time, resulting in
some reduced visibility and patchy slick driving conditions.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday

Snow will be quickly moving eastwards Sunday morning while northwest
winds remain strong with gusts up to 40-50 mph. Reductions in
visibility remain possible both while snow is falling and after snow
finishes falling, especially east of I-29 where some wrap around
snow is possible into the evening.

Falling temperatures throughout the day will lead to cold wind chills
down to about 10 to 20 below Sunday night into Monday morning.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not expected at this time.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 winter weather, 3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Brookings

When: December 28, 2:00 AM CST to December 29, 2:30 AM CST
Where: Brookings forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 44.370, -96.790 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Short duration near-blizzard conditions occurred, divided by a longer improvement in conditions as falling snow ended for a time during the afternoon and early evening. Gusty northwest winds from 30 to 45 mph were concurrent with light snowfall, which totaled 1.0 to 2.0 inches around Brookings, and resulted in brief visibility of around one-half mile that disrupted travel.

Winter Weather, Kingsbury

When: December 28, 4:00 AM CST to December 29, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Kingsbury forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 44.370, -97.491 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Short duration near-blizzard conditions occurred, divided by a longer improvement in conditions as falling snow ended for a time during the afternoon and early evening. Gusty northwest winds from 30 to 45 mph were concurrent with light snowfall, which totaled 1.0 inch at De Smet, and resulted in brief visibility of one-quarter to one-half mile that disrupted travel.

Winter Weather, Moody

When: December 28, 4:00 AM CST to December 29, 2:00 AM CST
Where: Moody forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 44.022, -96.671 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Short duration near-blizzard conditions occurred, divided by a longer improvement in conditions as falling snow ended for a time during the afternoon and early evening. Gusty northwest winds from 30 to 45 mph were concurrent with light snowfall, which totaled 1.0 inch at Flandreau, and resulted in brief visibility of around one-half mile and disrupted travel and resulted in several accidents.

Winter Weather, Minnehaha

When: December 28, 4:30 AM CST to December 29, 1:00 AM CST
Where: Minnehaha forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 43.674, -96.791 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Short duration near-blizzard conditions occurred, divided by a longer improvement in conditions as falling snow ended for a time during the afternoon and early evening. Gusty northwest winds from 35 to 50 mph were concurrent with light snowfall, which totaled 1.5 to 2.5 inches around the Sioux Falls metro area, and resulted in brief visibility of around one-half mile that disrupted travel and caused several accidents.

Winter Weather, Lincoln

When: December 28, 4:30 AM CST to December 29, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 43.279, -96.722 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Short duration near-blizzard conditions occurred, divided by a longer improvement in conditions as falling snow ended for a time during the afternoon and early evening. Gusty northwest winds from 35 to 50 mph were concurrent with light snowfall, which totaled 1.5 to 2.5 inches around the Sioux Falls metro area and 1.7 inches in Canton, and resulted in brief visibility of around one-half mile that disrupted travel and caused several accidents.

Winter Weather, Union

When: December 28, 5:00 AM CST to December 29, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Union forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 42.833, -96.656 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Short duration near-blizzard conditions occurred, divided by a longer improvement in conditions as falling snow ended for a time during the afternoon and early evening. Gusty northwest winds from 35 to 55 mph were concurrent with light snowfall, which totaled 1.0 inch near Jefferson and 10 miles north-northeast of Elk Point, and resulted in brief visibility of around one-half mile that disrupted travel.

High Wind, Charles Mix

When: December 28, 8:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where: Charles Mix forecast zone
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 43.208, -98.588 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sustained northwest winds reached 40 to 44 mph with a peak gust of 61 mph 13 miles west of Platte.

High Wind, Gregory

When: December 28, 9:00 AM CST to 3:30 PM CST
Where: Gregory forecast zone
Measured: 57 kt (66 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 43.192, -99.186 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sustained northwest winds reached 40 to 46 mph with a peak gust of 66 mph at Fort Randall Dam.

High Wind, Union

When: December 28, 10:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where: Union forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Department of Highways
Coordinates: 42.833, -96.656 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sustained northwest winds reached near 40 mph with a peak gust of 58 mph 4 miles south of Beresford.

What these are

Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.
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 2025 Every state in 2025 This day in weather history Warnings in South Dakota, December 2025

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: 1308500, 1308506, 1308507, 1308497, 1308508, 1308509, 1308487, 1308485, 1308490.