National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Tracking Late December Winter Storm Expected to Impact the Northern Plains through the Northeast U.S.

A winter storm system will rapidly intensify over the Midwest on Sunday and track through the Great Lakes on Monday. Periods of heavy snow are anticipated across the Upper Great Lakes late Sunday and continuing into Monday. At least 1/10 inch of ice accumulation is expected from a wintry mix across much of the interior Northeast U.S. starting Sunday afternoon. Read More >

Overview

Beginning on the evening of the 26th of December, a strong low pressure system lifted up from southeast Colorado/southwest Kansas and into eastern Nebraska/western Iowa and finally into Wisconsin on Friday the 28th of December.  This generated two distinct rounds of snowfall and mixed precipitation.  The first occurred the evening of the 26th and dumped snow mostly on the western two thirds of the South Dakota, along with some freezing rain in the central part of the state.  The second affected primarily the eastern half of the state with areas along and east of the Coteau being the hardest hit.  Along with the second wave of snow, very strong winds created whiteout blizzard conditions for most of the northeast quadrant of South Dakota.  Widespread storm total snowfalls of 6-12" were recorded across much of the state. 

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Snowfall Reports Over the Duration of the Storm
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