Whats Ahead

Friday we started to see rainfall across the area, and some freezing rain up north, near Sisseton and Watertown.

Out towards the west very little rain as this Storm has been an eastern weather maker so far. Mobridge saw less than a tenth inch of rain and Chamberlain is the only town that saw over a quarter inch of rain out towards the west. Some totals were actually very impressive: Sioux Falls, Spencer, Watertown and Sisseton were all over three tenths a inch with some freezing rain; Which caused ice to build up on power lines and trees, but no major damage with this storm, a few power outages in some locals.

Snow will start to fall as the low moves off to the east and we see northwest winds pick up in the area. Light snow fall is expected with the extreme north seeing the most snowfall, four inches tops. Winds will be the main problem in all areas, sustain winds easily topping 40 mph and gusts over 55 possible.

The strongest winds will occur Monday morning but the winds will start Sunday morning and last till Tuesday morning. This model picks up on the strong winds but I do believe they will be stronger then what this shows. Blowing snow will cause low visibilities, and the high winds/ice on the roads can cause cars to slide off and create accidents. Use caution and be prepared!

Were not done yet with this storm, come Tuesday we can see sunny skies and calmer winds. But temperatures will not be very pleasant, highs in the teens for Tuesday and Wednesday.

~KDLT Meteorologist Dan Bronis

The Weekender

Wanting to know what, where, and when we will see all different kinds of precipitation?? Here's your answer!Here is an updated version of the expected snow and ice accumulations.

So why are we seeing so much rain and freezing rain?? Well here's that answer. Temperatures and moisture have to be just right to form snowflakes. Its actually a very complicated process and they don't come from rain droplets freezing. That's sleet or in the summer time its hail. But when you have snow that develops and starts falling through the atmosphere, the entire column of air that the flake travels through must be below freezing for the flake to reach the ground. Well, when you have air that's about 45 degrees, for example, at 5000 feet, then the flake is going to melt into a raindrop. It will then continue to fall through the atmosphere as a raindrop all the way down to the surface. Well, if the surface happens to be below freezing, then that's when you get freezing rain. If you look at the picture below, of the temperatures at 5000 feet, you should notice something pretty quickly.

The temperatures at 5000 feet this evening are well over freezing. In fact, they are in the upper 40's in some spots. That is what melts the snowflakes and causes our freezing rain. Stay safe out there!!

~KDLT Meteorologist Cody Matz

Weekend Update

The major storm that has affected the southwestern United States this past week has finally moved inland and will start to effect our weather with snow, sleet, rain and ice. The past 24 hours we've seen a freezing drizzle, but with the surface low moving into our area, that will slowly switch over to a freezing rain/sleet.

Here's a radar image of the little activity seen across the region this morning:

There was a little mixed precip located near the South Dakota border and Nebraska, that should start to build up over the next few hours and effect the central portions of the state (Pierre, Mobridge, Aberdeen) with freezing rain and snow, by the mid afternoon hours. The eastern portion of South Dakota won't see much activity until the later afternoon hours and most of that will be rain/freezing rain with temperatures near freezing.

Friday night into Saturday will be the main threat for freezing rain. Accumulations can be expected with a half an inch tops in some locations. That will switch over to snow by Saturday night into Sunday. Be careful on the roads and stay in if it is not a necessity to leave, it will be dangerous with ice build up expected.

~KDLT Meteorologist Dan Bronis

Rain in January??

Rain in January is not something you here very often around here. Usually its snow this and snow that. Well, this time of year I think most people wish for the snow because when you get rain, you get pictures like this one.

Areas of freezing rain have been pretty common the last couple of days and this morning Jesse and I decided to de-ice her car. Well, we pulled a couple of large pieces off her car, probably a tenth of inch thick or so, and thought we would take a picture. Yes.....this is what weather nerds do on their free time!

Continuing on the topic of rain and freezing rain, this upcoming storm will probably be one to remember because if the forecasting models play out like they are supposed to, then we could see record January rainfall in some spots. Check out what our futurecast is pumping out for rain and freezing rain across the area. I realize Jesse showed you this same thing earlier but this is a new model run and the figures are even more impressive.Keep in mind that this model does not like to spread out moisture like it should so places like Aberdeen and Mobridge will likely see more then what this shows but this gives you a general idea of how much we are expecting. Now, looks like many places will see just about every precipitation type imaginable. I just showed you the rain, here is what we are expecting for snow and ice.

So when and where are we going to see all of this happen? Well, I have mentioned before that a picture is worth a thousand words, well this should explain a lot.

I don't think I can show a better explanation than that. That pretty much covers it. Accumulating rain, freezing rain, and sleet Friday night through Saturday. Then accumulating snow Saturday night through Monday morning. Don't forget about those wicked, nasty, ridiculous winds though. Friday through Saturday morning they will be out of the southeast 15-30 mph. Then they will be calmer Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning. But they will begin to howl again on Sunday and Monday out of the northwest some 20-40 mph with gusts to 50. Enjoy!

~KDLT Meteorologist Cody Matz

Weekend Winter Woes

Cody's precipitation map from the last post sums up this upcoming storm pretty well. We're going to see freezing rain and even rain showers in the southeast section of our viewing area because temperatures are going to creep above freezing for Saturday. Here's a look at what Futurecast is showing for rainfall by Saturday afternoon: Keep in mind that part of these totals are rain along with freezing rain, so it's not all going to freeze upon hitting the ground, but when temperatures dip below the freezing mark in the evening and overnight hours, that's when we're going to be worried about re-freezing.

This system will affect the other half of our viewing area as well. But temperatures will stay colder and while this system will bring some freezing rain to the northern half of the state, we will see more snow in those areas from this storm from Saturday and Sunday. Locally, we could see up to a foot of snow in the northwest section of the viewing area and lighter amounts to the south. The reason for lighter amounts down south is because the precip. type in the south, again, is going to be more freezing rain and then changing to snow by Sunday.

Make sure you have a good scraper and shovel for this weekend!
~KDLT Meteorologist Jesse Ritka

The Weekend Storm

Areas of freezing rain, sleet, and snow today for many areas, but this storm will seem like a breeze when you compare it to our next one which is set to effect our area this weekend. Winter storm watches are already posted for eastern Montana, almost all of North and South Dakota, and parts of western Minnesota.

This storm will likely bring all four types of precipitation to the area; rain, freezing rain, sleet, and snow. Now, depending on where you are located will depend on exactly how much of each of these types of precipitation you will receive. Here is what we are expecting to be the predominant hazards with this next storm.All told, some areas could end up with a foot of snow while other ares could get a half inch of freezing rain and then a couple inches of snow. Either way, this weekend will be a travel nightmare.

The HPC (Hydrological Prediction Center) are some of the brightest minds when it comes to forecasting what type of precipitation you will have and exactly how much. Here is what they think.

Amount of liquid equivalent precipitation will fall from now through Monday night;Probability of receiving 4 or more inches of snow from 6pm Friday through 6pm Saturday:Probability of receiving at least a quarter inch of freezing rain from 6pm Friday through 6pm Saturday;

Now keep in mind that the last two images do not include the entire storm. So much more can be expected Saturday night and Sunday as well. If you have travel plans this weekend, I would seriously consider having an alternative plan.

~KDLT Meteorologist Cody Matz

Wintry Mix Arrives

And boy has it arrived... reports around Sioux City, Iowa have shown 0.4 inches of freezing rain has already accumulated. Sioux Falls saw the freezing rain earlier this morning and now most of the precipitation moving through South Dakota at the moment is falling as snow, with a few areas of sleet being reported as well. But the big issue will be the roads this morning since most of the southeast saw freezing rain this morning to put a bit of an ice coat onto the roadways. Covering it up with snow could fake some drivers out, so keep your distance from the car in front of you as slippery conditions are likely going to be a common theme all day today. No travel advisories were posted for much of southeast South Dakota earlier this morning but some of those have been lifted so make sure you check out www.safetravelusa.com/sd or call 511 before you decide to take a longer drive. Ice storm warnings are in effect in extreme southeast SD and into Nebraska and Iowa where the most ice accumulation is occuring.

Be safe on the roads... we'll have more on this weekend's storm, including another shot of freezing rain in future blog postings.

~KDLT Meteorologist Jesse Ritka

Caution.... Freezing Rain Ahead

Freezing rain is on its way here. Ice storm warnings and winter weather advisories are now in effect in the southeast. These go through 9pm Wednesday. Those areas can expect a tenth to a quarter of an inch of ice and an inch or so of snow/sleet accumulation. Other areas could see a little freezing drizzle and then some light snow and sleet.

We keep talking about it but what exactly is freezing rain. Freezing rain is rain that falls and freezes on contact with anything at the surface. What happens is precipitation falls out of the clouds as snow. But there is a layer of the atmosphere somewhere between the cloud and the surface that is above freezing and melts the snow into rain. Once the precipitation is all rain, it cannot refreeze back to snow so it falls on the surface as rain. It takes very little freezing rain to cause problems from slick roads to power outages. Hopefully we can keep the ice accumulation as low as possible.

~KDLT Meteorologist Cody Matz