Blizzard — Marshall, South Dakota

2020-02-12 · Marshall, South Dakota

Wider weather episode

A powerful Arctic cold front moved quickly across the region during the morning hours bringing 1 to 2 inches of snowfall, very strong north winds of 30 to 45 mph gusting up to 50 to 60 mph, along with falling wind chills. With the new snowfall along with the existing snow cover, widespread blizzard conditions occurred across northeast South Dakota along with parts of central South Dakota.

After the blizzard, wind chills quickly became extreme across the region. Schools were closed and travel was significantly disrupted due to the blizzard and extreme wind chills. There were a few accidents with some vehicles ending up in the ditch. A 41-year old man driving an SUV in the early morning hours went off the road on State Highway 25 east of Veblen in Marshall county. The vehicle rolled several times. The man was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle dying of his injuries. See the storm data entry on the extreme wind chills.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 876089. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.