It did prove to be a rather tricky travel day for some in our region... the rain/snow mix freezing on many bridges and roads made it quite dicey, hopefully you got to your destinations safely this past Holiday weekend. Another bulls-eye around Beadle county from this system, but just around an inch was reported from this system as opposed to the 3.5 inches last time. But we're lucky that we didn't get the snowstorm that they saw edging into the Ohio River Valley, that intense low pressure would not have been a fun thing to travel through.
To recap this month though... the slight snow we saw Sunday didn't add much to the month for many people. In South Dakota, we saw a much drier and warmer November. We are about four inches BELOW what we're supposed to have and part of that was due to the first and third weeks of the month, with average temperatures 5-10 degrees above average. In fact we didn't see too many days dip below average, 12 days dipped just as few degrees below that mark while the other 18 days stayed at or well above average. And in the whole month, only 8 days had measurable precip. The warmer weather we had did keep a lot of that falling as rain, thus why we are behind on our snow total tally.
From the National Climate Prediction Center it looks like the next three months will continue this trend. Expect Dec.-Feb. to be at or just a bit above average. If this holds true, we could be talking about heavier, wetter snowfalls on the storms that do pass through.
~KDLT Meteorologist Jesse Ritka
This is the lower levels of the atmosphere, showing a lot of pinks, meaning that there is low humidity which is not conducive for cloud formation so the lower levels should be clear today.
This is good news because it will be pretty mild today with temperatures expected to be in the 40's by noon, as shown below. High temperatures will be mainly in the mid to upper 40's so I hope you enjoy your Black Friday! 
~KDLT Meteorologist Cody Matz
There are a couple of things to take note of; the wind barbs and the temperatures. The wind barbs are the flag looking items that extend out from the circles and the temperatures are the numbers in red. With some winds already sustained at 15 knots (~20mph) and with temperatures in the upper 20's and low 30's, wind chills this morning are ranging from the middle 10's to the low 20's. Now, we are expecting highs in the upper 30's and low 40's but with the winds, it will feel like temperatures are in 20's and low 30's for much of the day. Its a little decieving outside today so bundle up a bit if you head outdoors.
The wind barbs are showing sustained winds of 15-20 knots (~20-25 mph) during the afternoon hours. With highs expected to be in the 30's and 40's, wind chills will be near 30 at best in the daytime hours. Which means that the morning and evening hours could see wind chills near zero at times. So if you have outdoor plans for your Thanksgiving, definately bundle up.
For people in the Sioux Falls area and generally most of us in the I-29 corridor in South Dakota, we have a 60-75 percent chance of seeing a white christmas. For places out west like Pierre, Chamberlain, and Winner, its only about a 40-50 percent chance. So, keep your fingers crossed and maybe we will just get lucky enough to have a white christmas.
Enjoy the sun!!!
Okay, I love the snow, don't get me wrong, but it takes a bit to ease me into winter. Call it 
Looks like we'll see this type of picture for Thanksgiving, which is good news for any travel plans you may have. One thing to watch is the snow chances Thursday night and into Friday, right now it looks like just a few flurries and a potential dusting, not looking for more than a half inch of snow from this system, but we'll keep our eyes on it. Other than the slight snow potential, this looks like a very tame week, so enjoy the relative warmer temps!
However, this wedge of cold air over the midwest will thankfully begin to shift East today so tonight and tomorrow look warmer. Bundle up!
All you have to do is look at those numbers and you will realize how difficult of a forecast the lows are tonight with the model numbers 5-10 degrees off from one another. I am going to lean toward the warmer temps (relatively speaking) just because there is no snow on the ground and winds arent likely to be calm for very long. So I am leaning toward the 10 degree mark for Sioux Falls. We will see how it plays out but anyway you slice it, it's going to be cold so bundle up tonight!
Using a complex formula to figure out snow to liquid ratios, the model thinks that there will be a swath of snow where we recieve anywhere from 1-6" of the white stuff. Now keep in mind that this is just one of many models, all of which say a little something different and all have their own tendencies. For instance, this models tendency is to be too high on snowfall amounts. So this model's forecast is not set in stone. But, combining all of the models's outputs, the National Weather Service has come up with a forecast for the tri-state area.
They are calling for a swath of 1-2" of snow. That seems a bit more reasonable and I am going to agree with them for now. But remember, things can change very quickly so stay tuned to KDLT or this blog for further updates down the road.
This is what we use to determine temperatures at the surface. When there is a warm up expected above the earth's surface, then that typically will correspond to a warm up at the surface as well. Now, to get the really warm air, we would need to bring this 5000 ft air down to the ground because sinking air compresses and heats up. Well, at this point, the atmosphere doesn't look like its going to be very efficient in doing so. So that means, temperatures wont be warming up as much as they could. Never the less, warmer air can still be anticipated. And with us now into the middle of November, any warmer air that we can get is a plus. Enjoy!
So is there any good news? Well, it wont last long as Sunday we are expecting highs back into the 40's and 50's with calm winds and partly cloudy skies.