Winter Storm in Grant, South Dakota

A two vehicle accident resulted in a fatality near the town of Milbank in near blizzard conditions, with the nearby Automated Weather Observing System recording a visibility of 1/4 miles during the accident. The COOP observer in Milbank would also record 11 inches of total snow for the system.

A system to the south looped up into Minnesota, generating a band of heavy snow and strong winds across mainly northeast South Dakota, with a lull and partial melting before wrap around precipitation and a re-freeze resulted in additional ice and snowfall. Heavy snow and ice created slick roads and at times near-blizzard conditions. This led to a vehicle collision and fatality near the town of Milbank, while another fatality occurred on icy roads in Hand County. In Day County, icy roads caused a driver to slide into a recently opened pond. Numerous additional slide-ins and vehicle accidents were documented during this event. Snowfall amounts topped out at 12 inches in Waubay and Summit, 11 inches in Milbank and 10 inches at the National Weather Service in Aberdeen.