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Last week was really nice… And uneventful. Not what you would typically expect on the plains in January. This week will look and feel a bit more like it’s supposed to this time of year. We will start mild, but it won’t take long for temperatures to go on a bit of a roller coaster ride. By the end of the week the color of the landscape could change from brown to white.

A Dense Fog Advisory is in effect for much of Central and Northern South Dakota through noon today. Visibility has dropped to less than 1/4 mile across the advisory area. With temperatures well below freezing, the fog is also frosting the roads making them very slippery. Give yourself plenty of extra time to get where you’re going this morning, keep headlights on low beam and be sure to look twice, even three times at intersections. Visibility will gradually improve later this morning or early this afternoon.

Today will be mostly cloudy but mild. High temps will range from the low to mid 30s in the South to the mid 20s in the North. Clouds will decrease tonight. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny with warmer high temps in the mid to upper 30s. Parts of Central South Dakota will reach the low 40s tomorrow afternoon.

A cold front will blast across the plains late tomorrow and tomorrow night. While I don’t expect much precipitation with the front, it will bring in enough cold air to drop temperatures below average for the first time in about a week. Highs on Wednesday will only reach the low 20s.

We are closely monitoring a system that could bring snow to much of the region Friday into Saturday. It’s too early to get specific with amounts, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see several inches of snow in some places. In addition to the snow, strong wind could create areas of blowing snow. Stay tuned for updates. As we get closer, we’ll get a better grasp on where this thing will track and that will allow us to get more specific with forecast snow amounts. For now, just be aware that snow and blowing snow will likely impact travel across parts of our region Friday and Saturday.

One more thing… After the snow, it’s REALLY going to feel like January. By Saturday and Sunday high temperatures will only reach the single digits to low teens with lows dropping well below zero.

A powerful winter storm system will impact most of our region beginning today and continuing through tomorrow and into Friday. A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for a large portion of Central and Eastern South Dakota, Central and Northern Minnesota, Central Nebraska and Eastern North Dakota beginning today and continuing into Friday. In the Sioux Falls Area, a Winter Weather Advisory will go into effect At noon Thursday and continue through noon Friday.

There are a lot of different parts of the system. The Sioux Falls area will likely get more rain than snow. While we could still get 3 to 5 inches of snow accumulation across the Sioux Falls area, rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches will also be possible across extreme Southeastern South Dakota, Southwestern Minnesota and Northwestern Iowa.

Heavy snow north and west of Sioux Falls
This system will come in a couple of waves. The first will bring heavy snow to much central and northern South Dakota today and tonight. After a small break in the snowfall, the second more powerful wave of energy will bring more heavy snow with strong 30 to 40+ mph wind gusts.

Snowfall of 12 to 15 inches or more will be possible from Watertown to Aberdeen southwest to Mitchell, Chamberlain and Winner. The wind should hold to about 10 to 20 mph through the day today, but will gradually increase across Central South Dakota tonight and across the rest of the region during the day tomorrow. strong Northerly wind gusts of 30 to 40+ mph will create blowing snow and likely blizzard conditions tomorrow through tomorrow night into Friday morning.

Rain and snow in the Sioux Falls area
There will be enough warm air wrapped into the southern part of the system that Sioux Falls will actually get more rain than snow. As I mentioned above, there could be 2 or more inches of liquid precipitation that falls with this storm.

Sioux Falls will likely get some light snow by mid to late morning with an inch or so possible across parts of the Sioux Falls area by this afternoon. That snow will mix with and then change to rain later today as warmer air wraps into this system. Rain will continue through tonight into tomorrow morning. Rain will change back to snow tomorrow afternoon with another inch or two possible by late tomorrow afternoon. Snow will then continue tomorrow night into Friday which will bring total snow accumulation amounts to between 3 and 5 inches for the Sioux Falls area.

By tomorrow afternoon, strong northerly wind gusts of 25 to 35 mph will kick in and that will create blowing snow late tomorrow, tomorrow night into Friday.

If you are in the Sioux Falls/Tri-State area, monitor the forecast closely. The current forecast is the most likely scenario, but even a subtle shift in the storm track or temperatures that are a degree or two cooler than expected could result in a significant change in what actually happens.

Conditions will improve on Friday
Snow will end and conditions will improve throughout the day Friday. The weekend ahead will be dry with much colder temperatures.