Power Outage in Watertown, SD

Trees and power lines were downed by strong wind gusts estimated at upwards of 80 mph. The nearby Watertown Airport weather station reported a peak wind of 76 mph.

Eleven power poles were broken or tipped over along a 2/3 mile stretch of Highway 212. All of the poles were in a swampy area or in water. The damage was just south of a recreation area that also saw a few trees uprooted and a camper tipped over.

Estimated seventy-five mph winds downed several trees in Watertown along with many tree branches. One tree fell on a camper destroying it. A few power lines were also downed.

Some power outages also occurred in Watertown from lightning strikes.

Seventy mph winds brought some trees down along with causing some power outages in Watertown.

Seventy mph winds downed several trees and branches in Watertown along with causing some power outages.

The high winds damaged some trees, roofs, stop lights, along with downing some power lines in Watertown.

High winds caused scattered damage throughout Watertown. Many trees and branches were downed with one tree damaging a home. There was also damage to several roofs throughout town from the high winds. Five power poles were downed leaving around 100 people without power for several hours.

A strong low pressure system developed east of the Rockies in Colorado and then moved through the Great Plains and into the Upper Mississippi Valley from the evening of March 30th through the evening of March 31st. This system produced freezing rain during the late morning and afternoon on the 31st, with accumulations of a quarter inch or more across Deuel, Codington, Grant and Hamlin Counties. Some of the highest ice measurements include half an inch 3 miles south of Brandt and a third of an inch 4 miles south of Strandburg. Impacts from the ice included treacherous road conditions and localized power outages. In addition, this system produced wind gusts of 45 to 55 mph, thunderstorms with small hail, sleet, thundersnow, and blizzard conditions across the area.

Freezing drizzle began across much of central and northeastern South Dakota during the day on Monday, December 12th, in response to an incoming area of strong low pressure. By the evening, a glaze of ice had formed on surfaces leading to hazardous travel conditions. Freezing rain then fell across and near the Prairie Coteau from Monday night into the day Tuesday, December 13th leading to significant ice accumulations of generally a quarter to half inch. Winds were easterly during the event, and gusted generally between 20 to 30 mph, occasionally up to 40 mph. Impacts were severe, including school closures, many vehicle accidents, tree damage, power outages involving over a thousand customers at any given time for multiple days, and the collapse of the KDLO transmitter tower near Garden City.||The ice storm was just one component of a highly impactful, major winter storm. This storm was severe, widespread and prolonged in nature, and produced freezing rain, heavy snow and/or blizzard conditions from December 12th through 16th across the region. A Major Disaster Declaration was declared on February 27th by Governor Noem for several counties across central and northeastern South Dakota for winter weather from December 12-25th.

A powerful low pressure system brought damaging high winds, blizzard conditions, and areas of blowing dust from April 12th to April 14th. The combination of heavy snowfall and high winds produced blizzard conditions in Corson and Dewey counties in north-central South Dakota. Snowfall amounts ranged from 6.7 inches in McLaughlin, to 9 inches 14 miles NNE from Isabel, to 14 inches in Keldron. The snowfall and sustained winds of 45 mph with gusts exceeding 55 mph produce over six feet high snowdrifts. The blizzard caused the death of newborn livestock in north-central South Dakota. Mail was delayed in portions of north-central South Dakota as trucks could not leave Bismarck due to dangerous road conditions. The storm canceled many school activities in north-central South Dakota. In eastern South Dakota, snowfall amounts at or below one inch combined with high winds to produce blizzard conditions, especially in the open country areas. The blizzard significantly impacted travel - The Watertown Police Department recommended no travel advised within the city limits. There were additional reports of people pulled over in Clark County on Highway 212 and Interstate 29 between Watertown and South Shore due to zero visibility. Numerous school activities were canceled, and businesses closed early due to the horrific weather conditions. Some area schools were delayed or closed on the 14th.

An intense surface low pressure area along with a powerful cold front brought snow and high winds to northeast South Dakota on December 23rd. The surface low pressure area and cold front tracked from west to east across the region from the early morning into the afternoon hours. Extremely strong northerly winds, gusting from 50 to 70 mph, combined with the snow created widespread blizzard conditions and hazardous travel. Snowfall amounts ranged from 2 to 5 inches across the region. The highest wind gusts included, 66 mph at Victor and Watertown; 67 mph at Mellette and 7 miles northeast of Estelline; 68 mph at Aberdeen and 3 miles southwest of Big Stone City.||Temperatures also dropped significantly behind the system. In fact, above normal and even record temperatures in the 50s and lower 60s on Tuesday, December 22nd, dropped 40 to 50 degrees by the late afternoon of Wednesday, December 23rd.||Much of northeast South Dakota was placed under no travel advisories with many reports of traffic accidents and stranded motorists. A woman driving to work from her home in rural Amherst to Bristol became disoriented in the blizzard and drove into a slough and died. She was recovered over a month later on January 29th. Also, a truck carrying 9 tanks of hydrogen sulfide went off the highway 1 mile west of Webster in the blizzard and into a lake. The driver was rescued and was unharmed. A hazmat team was called in to ensure safe retrieval of the truck from the lake with no leaks from the tanks noted.

A powerful Arctic cold front moved quickly across the region during the morning hours bringing 1 to 2 inches of snowfall, very strong north winds of 30 to 45 mph gusting up to 50 to 60 mph, along with falling wind chills. With the new snowfall along with the existing snow cover, widespread blizzard conditions occurred across northeast South Dakota along with parts of central South Dakota. ||After the blizzard, wind chills quickly became extreme across the region. Schools were closed and travel was significantly disrupted due to the blizzard and extreme wind chills. There were a few accidents with some vehicles ending up in the ditch. A 41-year old man driving an SUV in the early morning hours went off the road on State Highway 25 east of Veblen in Marshall county. The vehicle rolled several times. The man was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle dying of his injuries. See the storm data entry on the extreme wind chills.

Severe thunderstorms developed north of a warm front across parts of central South Dakota early in the morning hours. These storms tracked along from west to east bringing large hail from quarter size to the size of tennis balls. As they moved into northeast South Dakota, the storms developed into a line as it moved east and bowed out. Sixty to ninety mph winds occurred across parts of Clark, Codington, Hamlin and Deuel counties. Many trees were damaged or blown down in these counties along with some buildings damaged. In Goodwin, beams from a shed went through the roof of a house. Much of the roof on another shed was blown off. A power pole was also snapped in Watertown along with a tree falling onto a house.

A strong warm front along with very unstable air and strong deep layer winds brought several supercell thunderstorns along with a damaging line of thunderstorms/bow echo to parts of central and northeast South Dakota during the afternoon hours. Damaging winds up to 90 mph uprooted large trees and caused considerable structural and crop damage and loss of power to those in it's path. The worst wind damage was located at Lake Poinsett, Watertown, and Milbank. A woman was killed and her husband was seriously injured on Lake Poinsett when their lake house was destroyed. Numerous trees were downed along with many structures damaged or destroyed. Many trees had fallen onto homes, cabins, and trailers. The bowling alley in Clear Lake lost its roof along with numerous pole barns being destroyed along the storms path. Thousands of people were also left without power. Four tornado touchdowns occurred along with hail up to the size of softballs. Isolated flash flooding also occurred. Codington, Hamlin, Grant, and Deuel counties were all declared in a Federal Disaster Declaration. Total damage estimates were around 1,100,000 dollars.

A surface low pressure area moving across the region brought warm moist air overtop low level cold air which resulted in widespread freezing rain across much of northeast South Dakota during the evening and into the early morning hours of the 8th and 9th. For much of the area, the precipitation changed over to all rain before ending as temperatures rose to above freezing. Ice accumulations ranged from a tenth of an inch to a half of an inch. Some ice accumulation reports included; 0.25 inches at Garden City, Hayti, Waubay, Clear Lake, Sisseton, and Summit; and 0.50 inches near Florence and Clark. Travel became hazardous with no significant accidents reported. Also, no problems with power outages or tree damage were reported.

A strong area of low pressure moving across the region brought heavy snow to much of northeast South Dakota. Most schools were closed across the region along with Interstate-29. Several stranded vehicles and semis occurred along with few accidents. Power outages also occurred for several hundred customers. Some of the snowfall amounts included, 6 inches at Watertown and Hayti; 7 inches at Clear Lake; 9 inches at Clark; and 10 inches at Milbank.

A powerful mid season winter storm moved northeast out of the four corners region of the United States and into the Northern Plains. Ahead of this system, warm and moist air streamed northward creating widespread fog and freezing fog conditions during the days leading up to the event. Heavy riming frost began to accumulate on power lines and tower guide wires, placing heavy strain on them by the time the freezing rain arrived in the late morning and afternoon hours on Friday, January 22nd. Along with the freezing rain, southeast winds gusting over 30 mph also created a strain on sagging power lines. Scattered power outages were reported as early as Tuesday, January 19th due to the frost covered lines, but the majority of power line and power pole damage occurred during the evening of the 22nd and the morning of the 23rd. The freezing rain that arrived during the afternoon and evening of the 22nd was the proverbial ���straw that broke the camel���s back���. By the time the rain, freezing rain, and snow ended Saturday morning, January 23rd, nearly every power cooperative across central and northeast South Dakota suffered extensive power pole and power line damage. Also, several radio and television towers were downed by the icing and strong winds.||The heavy icing and strong winds downed over 5000 power poles along with 21,000 miles of power lines across South Dakota leaving thousands of households without power. Several homes sustained substantial damage caused by broken water pipes. Power was still not restored for many customers until several weeks after the event. Power line crews from Minnesota, Kansas, and Oklahoma were called upon to help restore power. Several counties, along with the state emergency operations center, opened emergency shelters for people to stay. Forty-one National Guard members were on active duty across the state helping to restore power. Many flights were delayed or cancelled at several airports. The ice and the wind also helped topple a canopy at a truck stop at the intersection of Highway 20 and 212. On January 23rd, a radio and television signal transmission tower northwest of South Shore was downed along with a tower north of Reliance and a radio tower southwest of Marvin. ||The hardest hit area with this storm was the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock Sioux reservations in central and north central South Dakota. With no electricity, residents were dependent on donations of food, bottled water, blankets, heat and light sources, toiletries, and cots. The rural water system serving the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe was shut down resulting in the state EOC shipping water to the reservation.||The Governor asked for a presidential disaster declaration for most of the counties and three reservations. The request was for both public and individual assistance for total damages estimated over 20 million dollars for the state.

A strong area of low pressure moving across South Dakota and into Minnesota brought rain, snow, and strong winds to parts of northeast South Dakota. The precipitation initially began as rain during the daytime hours of the 6th. As colder air moved in and the winds increased, the rain changed to snow. Snowfall amounts of 6 to 8 inches occurred with widespread blowing snow as northwest winds increased to 20 to 35 mph. Roads became treacherous and difficult to travel on. Power was knocked out in Hayti and Castlewood late on the 6th until the early morning hours of the 7th. Also, several schools and businesses started late or were closed on the 7th. The Governor declared a state of emergency on the 7th, and President Bush declared South Dakota a disaster area.

Widespread freezing rain developed across parts of central and into northeast South Dakota through the late night hours producing significant icing of a quarter to a half inch by the late morning hours. No significant tree damage or power outages occurred. Although, travel was greatly disrupted with many accidents and vehicles sliding off the road. The freezing rain changed over to snow during the mid morning hours and became heavy with 6 to 9 inches of snow accumulating before it ended in the late evening. Some snowfall amounts included, 6 inches at Ree Heights, Miller, and Faulkton, 7 inches at Clear Lake, 8 inches at Bryant, and 9 inches at Milbank.

Widespread freezing rain resulted in 1/2 to 1 1/2 inch ice accumulations across a large part of northeast South Dakota. Many trees and branches along with power lines and poles were downed across Clark, Codington, Hamlin, Grant and Deuel counties during the late afternoon and evening of the 22nd and early on the 23rd. Some people were without power for a few days. Many schools and events were either delayed or cancelled on the 22nd and 23rd. As a result of the extremely difficult travel conditions, several accidents occurred. On Interstate-29, many vehicles and semis slid into the ditch as a result of the heavy icing. Around 8 am on the 23rd, there was a fatal car accident, in part do to the icing roads, on State Highway 22 about 6 miles west of Clear Lake.