National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Unsettled Weather in the West; Wintry Mix and Ice Accumulation Possible in Iowa and Vicinity

Significant low elevation rain and higher elevation snow is expected across central California and the Pacific Northwest into the Rockies through the weekend. A wintry mix and some ice accumulation will impact portions of the Central Plains through the Upper Midwest through Saturday. Widespread rain is forecast across the Southern Plains into the Mid-Mississippi and Ohio valleys this weekend. Read More >

Overview

An intense surface low pressure area moved from northeast Colorado to South Dakota from the 24th through the 26th. This storm was unusually warm for the region for late December and produced record breaking heavy rain along with flooding in some cases. Significant icing of locally over an inch occurred across areas at or just below the freezing point, which resulted in widespread tree and power pole and line damage to those areas. This was one of the worst ice storms to affect South Dakota since November of 2005. The ponding of the heavy rain froze overnight once much colder air moved in. Roads and walkways became treacherous ice rinks and remained as such for many days. There were numerous injuries from slips on the ice, as well as several vehicular accidents and flight cancellations. Some downed branches and trees fell onto homes across the region. This storm also brought high winds of 60 to 70 plus mph, along with snow and blizzard conditions to the region. This significant storm resulted in massive power outages with over 12,000 people without power (for some for more than 10 days despite tireless efforts), stranded motorists and closed roads. Water and sewer systems shut down for several days for some communities and emergency shelters were necessary. Deuel, Day, Marshall, Roberts and Grant counties were the hardest hit. Due to widespread significant impacts, the Governor of South Dakota declared a State of Emergency on the 26th which helped facilitate the movement of out-of-state crews to aid with power restoration. There was also a Presidential Disaster Declaration for damage to public property. The total estimated damage was near 8 million dollars for central and northeast South Dakota.

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Radar loop from 9 am to 9 pm Christmas Day. Freezing rain is not depicted.
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