Forecasters expect a strong winter storm to move into South Dakota on Sunday. A Winter Storm Watch is in effect Sunday night through Tuesday for West River and parts of central South Dakota.
Melissa Smith with the National Weather Service in Rapid City says conditions will gradually deteriorate. ?
"A light glaze of ice is possible from some freezing fog and freezing drizzle on Sunday. Especially in the plains to just to the east of the Black Hills. Then, we're looking for some heavy snow accumulations as a possibility beginning Sunday night into Monday for northwestern South Dakota and the northern black hills. And then, Monday and Tuesday, for areas across south central South Dakota. Accompanying the snowfall and the ice will be very strong winds with gusts easily over 60 miles per hour, which will result in blowing and drifting snow - and significantly reducing the visibility. We could even see some near blizzard conditions as well,” Smith says.
Smith says meteorologists are working to fine-tune the forecast for snow accumulations. Troy Kleffman with the National Weather Service in Aberdeen says several inches of snow are possible in his forecast area.
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“We're looking at some potential significant accumulations of snow especially west of the James River Valley, or over the Missouri River Valley, where we could see 6-10 inches of snow,” Kleffman says.
Weather officials encourage people to monitor the forecast throughout the weekend. SDPB's Gary Ellenbolt will have the latest weather and travel conditions Monday on Morning Edition.