Dangerous Fire Conditions in the Southern High Plains; Severe Weather from the Great Lakes into Central/Southern Plains; Late-Season Mountain Snow

Dry and windy conditions will produce dangerous fire weather conditions across the southern High Plains into the Southwest. Severe storms, including very large hail, strong tornadoes, and winds, are expected from the Great Lakes into the central/southern Plains. Heavy late-season snow and cold temperatures are expected in the northern to central Rockies. Heat is spreading across the eastern U.S.. Read More >

Memorial Day became a federal holiday in 1971 and was known as Decoration Day from 1868 to 1970. Below is a listing of the climate records on Memorial 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 Memorial Days. Record high temperatures have broken 100 degrees in some places, and record lows have been at or below freezing. Snow on Memorial Day is rare across our area, though Lead received over a foot of snow on Memorial Day of 1996.

In 2023, Memorial Day was warm, with highs in the mid to upper 70s. Severe weather also occurred across the area, with several reports of hail up to half dollar sized and wind gusts to around 60 mph. Last year, mild and mostly dry conditions prevailed, with highs in the 60s to 70s.

Records

Averages

Last 10 Years

UNR RSS Feed

Dangerous Fire Conditions in the Southern High Plains; Severe Weather from the Great Lakes into Central/Southern Plains; Late-Season Mountain Snow

Memorial Day Climate Information