Winter Storm in Fall River Co., South Dakota

A strong storm system developed rapidly over the northern Rockies in the predawn hours of March 14. Copious amounts of moisture were available to this system as it moved across Wyoming and into the Nebraska Panhandle. The low-level thermal structure of the atmosphere was critical in this storm. A mix of rain and snow was anticipated, and indeed a mix of rain and light snow occurred over much of Northeastern Wyoming and Western South Dakota. In the higher elevations of the Black Hills, the precipitation changed to all snow, and remained snow for much of the event. The change-over to snow occurred by 1:00 pm MST in the Black Hills. Over the ensuing 12 hours 7 to 10 inches of snow fell over foothills around the Black Hills, with 10 to 18 inches over the Black Hills. The heaviest snow fell in the Northern Black Hills where 12 to 18 inches fell. Deadwood, SD reported the heaviest total accumulation of 18.7 inches. Strong winds of 20 to 35 mph accompanied this storm and produced considerable blowing and drifting snow through the event.