The Girls State Basketball tournaments are underway in cities on both sides of South Dakota. The games come just in time for a winter storm.
Advisory: You can check highway cameras to see the road conditions across the state here. You can see a map of current road conditions in South Dakota here.
Officials with the National Weather Service say the storm will largely miss the tournament in Rapid City. But the forecast shows the central and northeast parts of the state could see blowing snow and freezing rain.
Eric Helgeson with the National Weather Service in Rapid City says the storm could impact travel in some areas. Watertown is hosting the Girls State “A” this weekend. Helgeson says it’s best to stay put during the storm.
“The freezing rain would probably end sometime Saturday night so that would give people a chance for the roads to clear up and temperatures to warm up on Sunday so if they can get where they are going Friday evening and then come back later Sunday they should be able to get back and forth but it’s the in-between period where the worst of it would be,” says Helgeson.
Spring snowstorms in South Dakota are common--often occurring at the same time as the March basketball tournaments. Past years have seen stranded teams and fans as a major storm hits during the games. Officials ask tournament fans to check the roads and weather before they travel.
Advisory: You can check highway cameras to see the road conditions across the state here. You can see a map of road conditions here.