The week ahead is going to be dry and considerably warmer. Afternoon high temps will reach the 40s in most places almost every day this week with some places climbing into the 50s by the weekend.

Today will be partly to mostly cloudy with high temps ranging from the low 40s along and south of I-90 to the mid to upper 30s across Central and Northern South Dakota. Temperatures will be a bit cooler where there is still a considerable amount of snow on the ground.

A weak system will slide across the region late tonight into tomorrow morning bringing scattered light snow showers to parts of Central and Northern South Dakota. Clouds associated with this system will hang around for most of the day tomorrow, but temperatures will be fairly similar to today.

The rest of the week will be sunny with gradually warming temperatures. High temps will reach the mid 40s on Wednesday and gradually climb into the low 50s by Friday. Once again, places with snow on the ground will remain slightly cooler. Obviously that trend will change when the snow melts.

The upcoming weekend will be mostly cloudy with scattered showers, but it will also be mild. High temps will reach the low to mid 50s on Saturday and Sunday. While I think the precipitation this weekend will come mostly in the form of rain, there could be some snow in places where morning temperatures drop into the low 30s.

We are tracking two systems that will bring snow to parts of our region over the next several days. The first system will impact areas along and south of a line from Sioux Falls to Pierre to the Northern Black Hills tonight and tomorrow. The second system will be more powerful, more widespread and impact most of our region late Friday night, Saturday and Sunday.

Today will be partly cloudy, slightly warmer and not as windy as yesterday. High temps will reach the mid-to-upper teens this afternoon with wind from the northwest at only 5 to 15 mph.

Our first system will kick in this evening as snow develops across Southwestern South Dakota and Western and Central Nebraska. A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for parts of Southern South Dakota along the Missouri River and Nebraska state line from late tonight through tomorrow and a Winter Storm Warning has been issued for parts of South Central and Southwestern South Dakota from late this evening into tomorrow afternoon. Snow will move east through the night, moving into Sioux Falls sometime after 3 am. Light to moderate snow will continue tomorrow morning, gradually decreasing tomorrow afternoon. Snow accumulation of around an inch will be possible along and north of a line from Spencer, IA to Sioux Falls to Pierre to the Northern Black Hills. Amounts will be heavier south of that line. 3 to 5 inches will be possible around Yankton, Vermillion, Gregory and Winner with locally heavier amounts of 6 inches or more possible across parts of South Central South Dakota.

The second system we are tracking will be more powerful, more widespread and will likely have a significant impact on travel across our entire region throughout the weekend. This is definitely a concern considering the number of people that will be traveling for the Summit League basketball tournament.

As of right now, all of our data is suggesting that snow will develop across Western South Dakota and western Nebraska sometime Friday evening. Snow will move east through the night with snow likely across most of South Dakota, Southwestern Minnesota and Northwestern Iowa by daybreak Saturday.

Snow is likely and could be heavy at times Saturday, Saturday night into Sunday. The only forecast change overnight is that both of our primary long range models are suggesting the system will be a bit colder. That means all snow and no rain for most, however, there could still be some parts of northwestern Iowa that get a little rain/snow mix on Saturday.

By Saturday night, strong northwesterly wind gusts will increase and that will create blowing and drifting snow Saturday night and all day Sunday. Conditions should improve Sunday night into Monday morning.

It is still early and there will be tweaks and changes to the forecast as this system develops. Over the next 24 hours or so we will get more specific with the potential track and snowfall amounts. That said, keep a very close eye on the forecast and be prepared to make changes. It is looking more and more likely that a significant winter storm system will impact most of our region this weekend.

Today’s forecast includes more cold and a possible winter storm for the upcoming weekend.

After an incredibly windy day yesterday, the wind has decreased through the night. It will still be a bit breezy this morning with gusts to around 25 mph through midday, but the wind should decrease to about 5 to 15 mph by late afternoon. We will start today with plenty of sunshine, clouds will increase a bit this afternoon with a few flurries possible later today. It will be a bit warmer than yesterday, but today’s high of 14 degrees in Sioux Falls and 15 degrees in Aberdeen is still about 25 degrees below average for this time of year.

After another dry, slightly warmer day tomorrow we have another chance of snow in the forecast for Wednesday night and Thursday. This system will primarily impact Southern and Southwestern South Dakota with snow along and south of a line that runs from Spencer, IA to Sioux Falls to Pierre to the Northern Black Hills. Sioux Falls, Mitchell and Pierre could get a couple of inches with heavier amounts to the South and West. 3 to 5 inches is possible from Sioux City to Yankton to Chamberlain to Murdo to Winner.

It wouldn’t be basketball tournament time without the possibility of a major winter storm looming over the weekend, right? The big weather story this week is the possibility of a powerful winter storm system that could have a widespread, significant impact on our region late Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Heavy snow and strong wind will be possible across much of South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. Temperatures will be a bit warmer this weekend, so there is also the possibility of some rain and even some ice, especially to the south. We are still several days away and we will be making a lot of tweaks and adjustments to this forecast. This system hasn’t even developed yet and there is a lot to be determined regarding storm track, amount of moisture, and precipitation type. I wouldn’t change plans at this point, but definitely check the forecast and check it often. We will keep the updates coming, getting more specific with the storm track and potential snowfall amounts as we get closer.

Colder than average temperatures will continue through the rest of the week, the weekend and beyond with several chances of snow this week.

Today will be cloudy with flurries in Sioux Falls and light snow across northern South Dakota. Accumulation will be light with the exception of extreme Northeastern South Dakota. Locations along and north of US Highway 212 (Watertown, Clark, Redfield areas) could get around an inch with slightly higher amounts as you head north. Around an inch or two is possible in Aberdeen with 2 to 3 inches possible along the SD/ND state line. Today will also be cold with high temps only reaching the mid-to-upper single digits.

High pressure will slide across the region tomorrow and that will kick out the clouds and bring on the sunshine. It will stay cold however, with high temps only a few degrees warmer than today.

Our next system will bring about an inch (maybe up to two inches in a few places) of snow late Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Another, slightly stronger system will have the potential to produce 2 to 3 or more inches of snow on Friday.

As of now it looks like the weekend will be mostly dry, but it will be bitterly and dangerously cold. High temperatures will only reach the low single-digits on Saturday and Sunday with morning lows dropping to between 15 and 25 below zero by Sunday morning.

Everywhere I go people keep asking when it’s going to warm up. Unfortunately, I don’t think you’re going to like my answer. Our long-range models are suggesting that the cold will last – it could actually be even colder – through most of next week. There is some hope, however. All of our data is hinting at somewhat warmer temperatures by the end of next week. Stay tuned. I’m on the hunt for warmer temperatures, too and will let you know the moment I have some good news.