Weather History - November 6th

Local and Regional Events:

November 6th, 1959:

A strong cold front that brought near blizzard conditions and freezing temperatures on the 5th continued to bring record or near-record lows during the morning hours on this day. Some low temperatures include;-13 in Murdo; -12 in Eureka; -11 in Britton; -10 in Castlewood;-9 near McIntosh and Redfield; -8 in Andover; -7 in Clear Lake and Kennebec; -6 degrees in Aberdeen; -5 in Watertown; and -4 in Pierre.

November 6th, 2008:

An area of low pressure moving across South Dakota and into Minnesota brought widespread rain, freezing rain, and snow to central, north-central, and northeast South Dakota. Much of the freezing fell across central and north-central South Dakota west of the Missouri River. As the freezing rain changed over to snow and the winds increased, the ice and snow buildup on the power lines and poles caused hundreds of power poles to break across Jones, Stanley, Dewey, and Corson counties. East of the Missouri River, the colder air and stronger winds moved in, changing the rain over to snow.  High winds of 30 to 45 mph with gusts near 60 mph brought widespread blizzard conditions to all areas.

Ice buildup ranged from a tenth to an inch for counties west of the Missouri River. Snowfall amounts across the entire area ranged from 2 to 8 inches, with a 15-inch amount recorded in southwest Corson County. Other snowfall amounts include 3 inches in Eagle Butte, Blunt, Kennebec, Mission Ridge, and Onida; 4 inches in Pollock, Gettysburg, and Bowdle; 5 inches south of Harrold, Iona, and near McIntosh; 6 inches in Mobridge; 7 inches in Murdo; 8 inches in McLaughlin, and 15 inches southwest of Keldron.

All 4,600 customers of the Moreau-Grand Electric Company lost power due to the storm. The last time this occurred was during the winter of 1967-68. The monetary loss to this cooperative and other electric cooperatives for Jones, Stanley, Corson, and Dewey counties was hundreds of thousands of dollars. Over 100 line workers worked countless hours with crews coming as far away as Nebraska and Iowa to assist in the power recovery.  Over 1,000 customers were without power for an extended period.

The blizzard resulted in numerous school, business, and road closures along with flight cancellations. Interstate 90 was shut down from Mitchell, South Dakota, to the Wyoming border from Thursday the 6th until Friday evening of the 7th. In the early afternoon hours of Friday, the 7th, slippery roads, high winds, and low visibilities contributed to the rollover of a passenger van carrying seven students. The passenger van rolled several times, causing severe injuries to three of the students. The Governor declared a state of emergency on the 7th, and President Bush declared South Dakota a disaster area.

U.S.A and Global Events for November 6th:

1961: Santa Ana winds in southern California downed trees, utility lines and blew 10 to 50 percent of the avocado crop from trees. Dust from the winds lowered the visibility, which led to a 16 car pileup, injuring 23 people. In addition, the winds brought the lowerest relative humidity of record to Burbank, 3 percent, and contributed to disastrous fires in the hills of the Los Angeles area.

1977: Several possible causes lead to the collapse of the Kelly Barnes Dam in Georgia to give way. The failure allowed a 40-acre lake to flood the Toccoa Falls College, killing 39 people and injuring 60 more. Click HERE for more information from the History Channel. Click HERE for more details from USGS.

The image above shows the twisted remains of a vehicle and other debris following a flash flood in Toccoa, Georgia. The image is courtesy of the NOAA Photo Library.

2005: The deadliest tornado to strike Indiana since April 3rd, 1974, occurred around 2 am. A single F3 tornado inflicted 24 fatalities, 238 injuries, and nearly 90 million dollars in damage with a path length of 41 miles. This storm moved in a northeasterly direction from just north of Smith Mills, Kentucky, to Gentryville, Indiana, and crossed the Ohio River three times. Most of the damage occurred as the tornado passed southeast of the city of Evansville, Indiana. Click HERE for more information from the NWS Office in Paducah.