Power Outage in De Smet, SD

Light snow, with a period of light freezing drizzle and light freezing rain, brought ice accumulations up to two tenths of an inch, and snow accumulation of 0.5 inches at Iroquois. A power outage from around 2000LST April 4 through 0030LST April 5 occurred in areas around Iroquois. Cold temperatures kept ice accumulated on surfaces well into April 5.

A tornado spun up in an open field one-quarter mile west of 418th Ave north of 204th Street in Beadle County. The tornado tracked east-northeast until reaching the county line. In Beadle County, the tornado caused no damage from which the NWS could assign an EF-scale rating. The tornado continued into Kingsbury County where it produced EF1 damage to power poles near the end of the track as it crossed 421st Avenue. The estimated maximum wind was 105 mph and the average path width in Kingsbury County was 40 yards.

Blizzard conditions led to a shutdown of government offices and schools, and travel was not recommended due to the widespread whiteout conditions. Almost unprecedented amounts of storm-total snowfall occurred, with the 3-day snowfall of 26.5 inches at De Smet and 19.8 inches at Iroquois both setting the second greatest 3-day snowfall total on record for the site. With winds gusting at times to around 50 mph, snow drifts to several feet made many roads impassable. Spotty power outages occurred.

High winds from a westerly direction followed a low pressure system which had brought Christmas Day rain and thunderstorms. There were reports of power lines and branches down with resulting power outages, and traffic lights damaged. Sustained winds over 40 mph and gusts over 55 mph were estimated by law enforcement.

Westerly winds behind a cold front reach sustained speed of 40 to 45 mph for a few hours. A gust to 58 mph was measured at Arlington. The high winds caused spotty power line and traffic light damage.

Snow, beginning briefly as rain, fell from around noon on April 10th to midday on April 11th. The snow accumulated 4 to 7 inches and was accompanied by north winds averaging around 30 mph and gusting to 45 mph. This produced blizzard conditions for much of the time, with zero visibilities and drifting snow making travel impossible. Schools and numerous businesses were forced to close. Power outages were reported as some power lines were downed by the combination of wet snow and strong winds.

A tornado destroyed or heavily damaged all buildings, other structures, and vehicles in the small town of Manchester. Propane and fuel oil tanks were destroyed. Many homes were stripped to the foundation. Of the six residents of the town, four were injured and were transported to hospitals. Three were deemed to be seriously injured, but non of the injuries were life threatening. One of the injured was in a basement, one was blown out of the home on the way to the same basement, and two were in a mobile home which was destroyed. The tornado damaged crops, trees, and power lines south of Manchester prior to reaching the town. The tornado also heavily damaged several farms north of Manchester, including two farms on which several buildings including the homes were destroyed. One of the farms was a "Centennial Farm". About 12 cattle were killed and others injured. The amount of crop damage was not known. During its path, the tornado was observed to have multiple vortices. The tornado was observed and video taped by numerous storm chasers and researchers. Researchers also deployed weather sensors around the town of Manchester. One of these sensors recorded a 100 millibar pressure drop as the tornado passed.