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Extreme Heat and Fire Weather Conditions in the West; Heavy Rain in the Southeast; Poor Air Quality

Extreme heat will begin to peak across the Desert Southwest. Multiple days of hot, dry and windy conditions are expected to bring fire weather concerns for portions of the Four Corners region into the central Great Basin and Rockies. Heavy rainfall and a flash flooding threat continues in the Southeast. Poor air quality persists from the Upper Midwest into the Northeast due to wildfire smoke. Read More >

Overview

Three mid-October winter storms impacted the region from Oct 19th through the 25th. Record cold accompanied this activity as well. 

The first system began late Monday night, October 19, through the day Tuesday, October 20. This system brought both heavy snow, rain and mixed precipitation to parts of the region. The heaviest snow fell over northeast South Dakota and west central Minnesota where several locations reported over 6 inches.

The second system developed late Wednesday night, October 21, through Thursday, October 22. This system brought heavy snow to parts of north central and northeast South Dakota, with a few locations reporting 12 or more inches.

The third system impacted much of central and east central South Dakota from Saturday, October 24th through the beginning of Sunday, October 25th. Up to a foot of snow fell across portions of central South Dakota, with enough wind for some drifting as well. 

It is rare to see this much snow so early in the season. Some locations even broke October snowfall total records. A number of cold low and high temperature records were set as well from the 19th through the 27th. 

 

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Above: List of daily temperature and snow records Oct 19th - Oct 27. Below: Preliminary monthly records/near records for snow and temps.

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