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Fire Weather Concerns; Record Warmth Spreads

The Plains to the mid-Mississippi Valley continue with warm and dry conditions. Any fires that initiate could spread quickly. The warm temperatures will expand across the Southern Plains into the Southwest where numerous records are expected through the weekend. Meanwhile, a cold front will move southward across the northern Plains and Great Lakes region where some snow will develop this weekend. Read More >

Easter is a unique holiday meteorologically due to its wide array of dates across March and April. As a result, record high and low temperatures show a large range, extending from the 80s and 90s to the single digits above and below zero. Easters can also be especially wet or snowy, the latter of which was the case during Easter 2020. Below is a listing of the climate records on Easter Day for Rapid City, Gillette, Lead, Winner, Lemmon, Sundance, Spearfish, Newcastle, Hot Springs, and Custer, as well as the weather in downtown Rapid City and Gillette for the past 10 Easters. 

The last five Easters have alternated between relatively warm and cool years, with highs in the 20s in 2020, 70s in 2021, 40s in 2022, 60s in 2023, and 30s with snow in 2024. Will the trend continue in 2025?