This Day in Weather History Archive

On This Day In

                   Weather History...

December 11, 1965:

Ice up to 3 inches thick, with even more in some locations, accumulated from freezing rain on utility lines and trees in northern South Dakota, causing extensive damage. The damage was estimated at $1 million each to telephone lines and power lines, with the greatest losses in the northeast quarter of the state. The first accumulation of the glaze began as a heavy rime due to dense fog and freezing temperatures prior to the 11th. Freezing rain, which started the afternoon of the 11th and continued into the 12th, formed a coating of ice over the heavy rime accumulation. The glaze remained for a week or more in most areas. In west central Minnesota, freezing drizzle and freezing rain at night on the 11th caused ice accumulations of 1/2 to 1 inch thick on roads, telephone, and electric wires, as well as tree limbs. Power and other services were disrupted over a wide region. Some services were out for up to four days.

December 11, 2004:

High winds gusting to around 60 mph caused some spotty damage in northeast South Dakota. In Watertown, some trees were downed. One tree fell onto a house, causing some minor damage. In Milbank, two rail cars were blown down a railroad track and derailed.

December 11, 2010:

A strong Alberta Clipper came across the region bringing snowfall, strong northwest winds, along with bitter cold Arctic air from the early morning until the late afternoon. Snowfall of 1 to 5 inches combined with 25 to 35 mph winds gusting to 45 mph brought widespread blizzard conditions across much of northeast South Dakota. Travel was significantly disrupted or halted as a result with many events cancelled. The blizzard was short-lived from the mid morning hours into the early afternoon hours. The snowfall began between midnight and 2 am CST and ended from 2 to 4 pm CST in the afternoon.

Record Highs:	Record Lows:
Aberdeen: 59 (1939)	Aberdeen: -22 (1927)
Kennebec: 68 (1939)	Kennebec: -17 (1962)
Mobridge: 64 (1939)	Mobridge: -22 (1917)
Pierre: 64 (1939)	Pierre: -16 (1972)
Sisseton: 58 (1939)	Sisseton: -19 (1945)
Timber Lake: 64 (1939)	Timber Lake: -18 (1962)
Watertown: 55 (1939)	Watertown: -20 (1945)
Wheaton: 48 (1998)	Wheaton: -15 (1972)

Record Precipitation:	Record Snowfall:
Aberdeen: 1.00" (1909)	Aberdeen: 10.0" (1909)
Kennebec: 0.71" (1965)	Kennebec: 6.0" (1909)
Mobridge: 0.79" (1965)	Mobridge: 5.3" (1949)
Pierre: 0.34" (1965)	Pierre: 3.2" (1949)
Sisseton: 0.90" (1949)	Sisseton: 4.0" (1932)
Timber Lake: 1.08" (1949)	Timber Lake: 8.2" (1949)
Watertown: 0.69" (1965)	Watertown: 4.0" (1932)
Wheaton: 0.97" (1949)	Wheaton: 1.5" (1995)