Worst Since 1966? Central South Dakota Winter Storm Rolls On [UPDATE]

I can remember chains on tires. Huge mountains of snow to play on and I have vivid memories of a maintainer with a V Plow on the front end raming back and forth like a Mountain Goat a huge pile of snow at the north end of Main Street in Kennebec, South Dakota.

It sounds like residents in South Central South Dakota are really in it with this recent winter storm. I Texted my brother Carl who owns Jet Lanes in Presho and asked how it was out west. His response was;

Terrible.

He usually soft shoes around questions like this. How much snow? His first response was maybe 16 to 20 inches along with 50 MPH wind. His following text said, Maybe not that much, but how would you know?

All I know is while we are safe and warm and thinking nothing of it, the middle part of the state is DEALING with a storm. Further west Deadwood was dealing with 48-plus inches. Anyone who's from around here knows 2 inches of snow and a big wind can make things tricky in a hurry. Pile that snow up and things get interesting fast.

Get our free mobile app

I saw a post where a fellow has been stranded for two days at The Coffe Cup Truck Stop, for two days. The fellow said they were trying to get to their southwest winter homes. They finally were stranded north of Vivian.

Radio Station KCCR in Pierre ran an awesome story on the storm. The one thing that stood out to me, was there has already been talking of this being the worst they've seen since 1966.

Check that story here! It's incredible. 

Clear the roads? What do you get? Glare Ice. Law enforcement said, don't even think about travel. You will be arrested. UPDATE: You can't by law be arrested, but you can be cited and a civil penalty can be imposed per State Statute. Long and short, stay put and ride this storm out. 

We had freezing rain here in Sioux Falls. We probably dodged the worst of it. Out in the middle of the state, it's gonna take a herculean effort to clear roads under overpasses. I can't imagine taking care of 200 or 500 head of cattle in this weather. You can bet there are producers out there now putting life and limb at risk to take care of their animals.

I don't have a ton of pictures. I'm sure most of them would look like a blake page of typing paper. I know one thing, as I write this, Here's to good thoughts, warm thoughts for those out working in the storm. First responders and those who climb poles in the wind and those who are at home making a warm meal for them to eat later. Be safe Central South Dakota. Be warm.