A strong surface low pressure system tracked from Wyoming across South Dakota on Friday, January 17th and Saturday, January 18th. Two periods of snowfall occurred with this system with the first snow event starting early to mid morning Friday across northeast South Dakota and ending by late afternoon. Moderate to heavy snowfall with south winds from 30 to 40 mph gusting to over 50 mph brought a period of blizzard conditions to northeast South Dakota from the morning to the late afternoon on Friday. By Friday evening, a brief lull in the winds allowed for improvements to the visibility.
A second quick period of snowfall occurred in the late evening and early morning hours with an Arctic cold front coming in from the northwest.  Northwest winds of 30 to 40 mph gusting to over 50 mph behind the front brought a second round of blizzard conditions from late Friday evening into the early morning hours Saturday. Ground blizzard conditions then continued through much of the day Saturday across northeast South Dakota. Very cold air moved in with the northwest winds as well.
Impacts included road closures such as I-29 across all of eastern SD from Friday evening through the afternoon Saturday. Portions of I-90 were also closed with other roads closed for even longer. Some power outages occurred along with many vehicles in ditches. The Arctic front surge on Friday evening caught a resident in Mcpherson county off guard. He left Long Lake in the late evening where about 3 inches of snow had fallen with no wind. As he traveled to Highway 10 and turned west, the Arctic front hit with very strong winds and blizzard conditions. His pickup went into the ditch only 3 miles from home. He was stuck through the night into Saturday morning the 18th. He stayed with his vehicle and cleared his tailpipe every half hour. The pickup heater quit working at 3 am and the windows iced up. Ground blizzard conditions remained into Saturday when he was rescued about 1030 am. There was also another vehicle stranded about 100 yards away. On Friday, many schools were closed with nearly all activities canceled or postponed for the weekend. The governor closed state branch executive offices for Friday afternoon.
Snowfall amounts ranged from 1 to 6 inches from the Missouri River east through northeast South Dakota. The highest amounts included, 3 inches at Sisseton, Webster, Aberdeen, Long Lake, and Clear Lake; 4 inches at Eureka, Bowdle, and Faulkton; 5 inches at Clark, Roy Lake, and Castlewood; and 6 inches at Summit, Milbank, and 3 miles east of Watertown.

Blizzard in CAMPBELL, SOUTH DAKOTA
From 17-JAN-20 21:30:00 to 18-JAN-20 03:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Blizzard in WALWORTH, SOUTH DAKOTA
From 17-JAN-20 20:30:00 to 18-JAN-20 07:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Blizzard in POTTER, SOUTH DAKOTA
From 17-JAN-20 20:30:00 to 18-JAN-20 07:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Blizzard in EDMUNDS, SOUTH DAKOTA
From 17-JAN-20 21:30:00 to 18-JAN-20 16:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Blizzard in MCPHERSON, SOUTH DAKOTA
From 17-JAN-20 22:00:00 to 18-JAN-20 16:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Blizzard in FAULK, SOUTH DAKOTA
From 17-JAN-20 22:00:00 to 18-JAN-20 16:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Blizzard in HYDE, SOUTH DAKOTA
From 17-JAN-20 22:30:00 to 18-JAN-20 16:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Blizzard in HAND, SOUTH DAKOTA
From 17-JAN-20 22:30:00 to 18-JAN-20 16:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Blizzard in BUFFALO, SOUTH DAKOTA
From 17-JAN-20 22:00:00 to 18-JAN-20 05:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Blizzard in BROWN, SOUTH DAKOTA
From 18-JAN-20 00:30:00 to 18-JAN-20 14:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Blizzard in SPINK, SOUTH DAKOTA
From 18-JAN-20 00:00:00 to 18-JAN-20 16:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Blizzard in MARSHALL, SOUTH DAKOTA
From 17-JAN-20 14:10:00 to 18-JAN-20 17:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Blizzard in DAY, SOUTH DAKOTA
From 17-JAN-20 13:00:00 to 18-JAN-20 17:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Blizzard in CLARK, SOUTH DAKOTA
From 17-JAN-20 11:00:00 to 18-JAN-20 18:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Blizzard in ROBERTS, SOUTH DAKOTA
From 17-JAN-20 11:00:00 to 18-JAN-20 17:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Blizzard in CODINGTON, SOUTH DAKOTA
From 17-JAN-20 10:30:00 to 18-JAN-20 18:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Blizzard in HAMLIN, SOUTH DAKOTA
From 17-JAN-20 10:00:00 to 18-JAN-20 18:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Blizzard in GRANT, SOUTH DAKOTA
From 17-JAN-20 11:00:00 to 18-JAN-20 18:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

Blizzard in DEUEL, SOUTH DAKOTA
From 17-JAN-20 11:00:00 to 18-JAN-20 18:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager