The month of March is going out like a lion as a winter storm system is resulting in poor driving conditions and several closures across much of South Dakota Friday.
All of central and northeastern South Dakota is under a blizzard warning, according to the National Weather Service. Most western counties, including the Black Hills region, are under an ice storm warning. Southeastern South Dakota, including the Sioux Falls area, is under a winter weather advisory.
The Department of Transportation is closing portions of both Interstate 90 and Interstate 29 due to the weather. Officials have closed I-90 from Rapid City to Mitchell, though westbound lanes from Rapid City will remain open. Both lanes of I-29 from Watertown to the North Dakota state line closed at 2 p.m.
Gov. Kristi Noem ordered state offices closed in dozens of counties in the northeast and central parts of the state. Most school districts in these areas are also closed, and several universities cancelled classes Friday.
The South Dakota Department of Transportation's road conditions map shows slippery road conditions across nearly the entire state.
Latest snowfall forecast. #sdwx #mnwx pic.twitter.com/rXEE6OjzRv
— NWS Aberdeen (@NWSAberdeen) March 31, 2023
Forecasters say a mix of rain and snow began is moving generally north to south across the state. Any rainfall is expected to transition to snow as colder temperatures move in. This may also lead to extremely icy conditions as the rain freezes and fresh snow falls on top of it.
Snowfall totals are expected to vary by region, but the heaviest amounts are forecasted for central South Dakota. Some areas may see over a foot of snowfall.
The NWS said the system is expected to move out of the region late Friday into Saturday morning. Temperatures are expected to rebound into the 30s and 40s across much of the state over the weekend.
At Noon there were a few places near and north of I-90 that had wind gusts of 25-35 mph. Most places still had relatively light northerly winds.
— NWS Sioux Falls (@NWSSiouxFalls) March 31, 2023
Strong winds are still on their way! By 4 pm, most locations have gusts of 30-40 mph. Snow and blowing snow will also be spreading in. pic.twitter.com/MPO3awmsHi
Weather resources
- Rapid City National Weather Service forecast center
- Aberdeen NWS forecast center
- Sioux Falls NWS forecast center
- Check the latest road conditions in South Dakota here
State offices are closed in Brown, Buffalo, Campbell, Clark, Codington, Corson, Day, Deuel, Dewey, Edmunds, Faulk, Grant, Hamlin, Hand, Hughes, Hyde, Jones, Lyman, Marshall, McPherson, Potter, Roberts, Spink, Stanley, Sully, Walworth, Mellette, Todd, Tripp, Douglas, Sanborn, Aurora, Beadle, Charles Mix, Brule, Davison, Gregory, and Jerauld counties.
