Power Outage in Gregory, SD

Wooden power poles broken off by thunderstorm winds. A large area of 80 to 100 mile per hour winds accompanied the tornadic development.

Blizzard conditions led to a shutdown of government offices and schools, and travel was not recommended due to the widespread whiteout conditions. Storm-total snowfall from 8 to 15 inches occurred, with 14.0 inches at Gregory, 12.2 inches 4 miles southwest of Burke and 12.0 inches at Bonesteel. With winds gusting at times to around 50 mph, many areas had snow drifts of several feet, making roads impassable. Ice accumulation of one to two tenths of an inch occurred, resulting in spotty power outages as wind increased.

High winds from a westerly direction followed a low pressure system which had brought Christmas Day rain and thunderstorms. There were several reports of power lines and branches down and resulting power outages. The winds included measured sustained winds of 40 mph and a peak gust of 60 mph near Gregory.

Westerly winds behind a cold front reach sustained speed of 40 to 50 mph for several hours. A gust to 67 mph was measured near Fairfax. The high winds caused spotty power line and traffic light damage.

Freezing rain produced ice accumulations, estimated at a quarter inch. The freezing rain was followed by 3 to 7 inches of snow, including 4.9 inches 4 miles southwest of Burke. Strong northwest winds produced drifting snow and some areas of blowing snow. Roads were made very icy before becoming snow covered. There was damage to power lines and resulting power outages, and school classes were cancelled.

Snow accumulating 6 to 9 inches was accompanied by north to northeast winds gusting to around 40 mph. The combination resulted in visibilities frequently lowering to a quarter mile or less and, along with drifting snow, made travel difficult to impossible. Power outages were reported from snow weighting down power lines, and snow laden trees falling on lines.

Thunderstorm winds destroyed a farm building and blew the debris across a road. The winds also blew down power lines.

Snow, beginning briefly as rain, fell from around noon on April 10th to midday on April 11th. The snow accumulated 4 to 8 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.

Freezing rain caused significant icing of a quarter to a half inch, which caused branches and power lines to break in several places. The freezing rain was followed by 4 to 7 inches of snow, with the 7 inch report northwest of the town of Gregory. Travel was greatly slowed and was brought to a standstill in places. Several vehicles slid off roads. Classes for December 21st were cancelled at several schools.