Winter Weather — Moody, South Dakota

2020-01-03 · Moody, South Dakota

Event narrative

Snowfall totaled 1.1 inches in Flandreau and 1.0 inch 11 miles north of Colman. Despite the lesser snowfall amounts, winds gusted as high as 33 mph at Flandreau which resulted in visibility briefly as low as one half mile. The following morning, a fatality (indirect) occurred when a northbound pickup pulling a trailer lost control on icy Interstate 29 west of Flandreau and rolled in the median, coming to rest on its roof. The driver, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown into the southbound lane and struck by a southbound SUV. A passenger in the pickup was also injured (indirect).

Wider weather episode

A sharp upper-level trough amplified as it dug through the Northern Plains on January 3. Intensifying low-level wind gradients resulted in a burst of stronger winds for a couple hours, which accompanied snowfall to produce a brief period of dangerous visibility.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 872351. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.