Yikes!!

The projected storm that is on it's way toward South Dakota is still expected to be a doozey. 10-15 inches of snow is expected to be widespread across at least the eastern third of South Dakota and the western half of Minnesota. Every time we turn around, another model is slapping us in the face with ridiculous amounts of snow. So after all of this, we analyze and make our predictions. But us TV meteorologists aren't the only ones doing the forecasting. There are several expert agencies that produce forecasts in different ways. You generally here about the National Weather Service (NWS) but I like to look at every one's forecast. Here is one such forecast that comes from the precipitation experts at the Climate Prediction Center. They actually forecast a little differently and use probabilities to tell their story. So here they are! Its a little lengthy but will give you an idea of how our forecasts are influenced.

The probability of getting at least 4 inches of snow from 6pm Wednesday through 6pm Thursday:

The probability of getting at least 8 inches in the same time frame:

The probability of getting at least 12 inches in the same time frame:The probability of getting at least 4 inches of snow from 6pm Thursday through 6pm Friday:The probability of getting at least 8 inches in the same time frame:

The probability of getting at least 12 inches in the same time frame:
The probability of getting at least .25 inches of icing from 6pm Tuesday through 6pm Wednesday:The probability of getting at least .25 inches of icing from 6pm Wednesday through 6pm Thursday:Now you have an idea of just some of the components we look at to create a forecast. So here is my forecast!Hope everyone has a safe holiday and enjoy the snow!!!

~KDLT Meteorologist Cody Matz