This Day in Weather History Archive

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                   Weather History...

December 25, 1983:

Winds of 20 to 30 mph, with occasionally higher gusts, combined with very light falling snow and loose surface snow to cause near-blizzard conditions and dangerously low wind chills in most of South Dakota, as well as in southwest and west central Minnesota, from the early evening of the 23rd into Christmas morning. Visibilities were frequently near zero and four- to five-foot drifts closed the vast majority of roads, making travel impossible. Hundreds of motorists became stranded during the evenings of December 23rd and 24th. In Minnesota, many holiday travelers heading west from Minneapolis and St. Paul drove to central Minnesota before conditions became too severe to continue. Winds and severe cold in the western part of Minnesota caused several power outages as well as the loss of livestock.

In South Dakota, at least 70 vehicles were stalled at one point over a 14-mile stretch of Interstate 90 between Kennebec and Reliance in Lyman County. The Pierre Airport in Hughes County was closed twice on the 23rd as visibility was reduced to zero. Most flights were canceled at Sioux Falls Airport in Minnehaha County, stranding numerous holiday travelers. Sub-zero temperatures, combined with gusts of over 60 mph, produced wind chill indices in the 60 to 100 below zero range. Several cases of frostbite were reported, propane gas solidified, fuel jelled, and water pipes and tanks froze as a result of the extreme cold. In Minnehaha County at Wall Lake, electrical outages of 12 hours were experienced from power lines snapping as a result of the cold and winds.

December 25, 1985:

Very strong winds occurred across the entire area, gusting to 72 mph at Redig in Harding County and to 80 mph at Brookings in Brookings County. The winds produced ground blizzard conditions, forcing some cars off the road and causing many accidents. Many people were stranded in Gettysburg during this time. Eight inches of snow fell in Buffalo over the two day's time and became piled in very high drifts by the winds. Little to no new snow fell across the current Aberdeen forecast area.

Record Highs:	Record Lows:
Aberdeen: 51 (1999)	Aberdeen: -25 (1996)
Kennebec: 62 (1928)	Kennebec: -18 (1983)
Mobridge: 51 (1963)	Mobridge: -17 (1996)
Pierre: 56 (1999)	Pierre: -16 (1983)
Sisseton: 54 (1994)	Sisseton: -20 (1902)
Timber Lake: 53 (1963)	Timber Lake: -22 (1983)
Watertown: 49 (1943)	Watertown: -24 (1902)
Wheaton: 49 (1999)	Wheaton: -28 (1914)

Record Precipitation:	Record Snowfall:
Aberdeen: 0.36" (1950)	Aberdeen: 5.1" (1950)
Kennebec: 0.50" (2009)	Kennebec: 12.0" (2009)
Mobridge: 0.23" (2009)	Mobridge: 6.4" (2009)
Pierre: 0.48" (2009)	Pierre: 7.8" (2009)
Sisseton: 0.55" (2009)	Sisseton: 13.9" (2009)
Timber Lake: 1.00" (1916)	Timber Lake: 10.0" (2009)
Watertown: 0.24" (2009)	Watertown: 5.8" (2009)
Wheaton: 0.45" (1942)	Wheaton: 3.9" (2009)