Winter Weather — Lyman, South Dakota

2026-01-16 · Lyman, South Dakota

Event narrative

At 3:44 PM, the Lyman County Sheriff responded to a five-vehicle accident on Interstate 90, five miles west of Reliance. The collision occurred when a vehicle slowed due to near-blizzard conditions caused by high winds and snow showers.

The South Dakota Department of Transportation mesonet station, located three miles west-northwest of Reliance, recorded wind gusts between 37 and 40 mph at the time of the incident. The chain-reaction accident resulted in eight injuries and two fatalities.

Wider weather episode

A clipper system and arctic blast brought strong winds and pockets of light to moderate snow showers.

A peak wind gust of 71 mph was observed 1 mile north northwest of Lees Corner in Buffalo County by the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) Road Information Weather System (RWIS), and by a personal weather station 2 miles north of the Pierre Regional Airport. A 68 mph wind gust was also recorded by the SDDOT RWIS station 1 mile northeast of Stephan in Hyde county, while 66 mph wind gusts were measured by the SDDOT RWIS stations 5 miles south southwest of Klein Ranch in Corson county and 1 mile northeast of Timber Lake in Dewey county. A total of 39 weather stations recorded a peak wind gust at or in excess of 58 mph. These high winds flipped a semi and damaged a grain elevator near the town of Murdo on the morning of the 16th.

While snow accumulations were limited, snow showers of moderate intensity combined with these strong winds to produce temporary white-out conditions. No Travel Advised was issued by both the Walworth and Day county Sheriffs. Various SDDOT RWIS webcams showed visibility in blowing snow fluctuating significantly over short distances in the matter of a few minutes. An emergency vehicle rendering assistance for an accident on Interstate 29 near Watertown was struck with minor injuries. A separate accident along Interstate 90 resulted in a 5 vehicle chain reaction crash which resulted in 2 fatalities and a number of injuries.

80 residents of Deuel county reported power out during the event.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1300820. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.