Ice Storm in Faulk, South Dakota

A street light collapsed due to the combination of strong winds and the weight of ice.

A strong low pressure system developing close to the Gulf of Mexico lifted north and then west into southeast South Dakota, resulting in heavy precipitation and strong winds. While initially snow and freezing drizzle, warm and humid air pushing into the region from the east resulted in precipitation changing over to more widespread freezing rain and rain east of the Missouri river.

Atmospheric moisture associated with the system was significantly above normal for mid-winter. Moisture over the course of the 2-3 day event measured 2.82 inches in LaBolt, 2.68 inches in Milbank, 2.53 inches 6 miles north of Browns Valley and 2.44 inches 2 miles east of Sisseton. Daily records for moisture were set at the Sisseton Municipal Airport on both December 25th and December 26th at 1.43 and 1.17 inches respectively.

The ice was just one component of a highly impactful winter storm that occurred during a major travel holiday. Winds topped out at 57 mph at the DOT station in Lake City, with numerous other reports of wind gusts at or above 50 mph. The combination of ice and strong winds resulted in numerous reports of tree damage and power interruptions. One NWS employee lost power to their house for 3 hours during the storm, while the northern portions of the Sisseton hills witnessed numerous line failures.

In addition to tree damage and power outages caused by this storm, travel was severely impacted by icy road conditions. Numerous Emergency Managers issued no travel advised for their counties, and several accidents were reported. Road conditions remained icy into Wednesday, December 27th, thanks to lingering light precipitation. This included a stretch of Interstate 29 which was blocked by a jackknifed semi during the evening commute.