National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Snow Across the Great Lakes, Central Appalachians, and Northeast; Unsettled Weather in the West

Light to moderate snow will continue into Saturday over the Great Lakes, Central Appalachians, and Northeast. This weekend into next week, a series of atmospheric rivers will bring gusty winds, periods of heavy rain, and mountain snow to northern California and the Pacific Northwest. Colder temperatures are in store for the weekend from the Great Lakes to East Coast. Read More >

A narrow, but intense snowband developed over eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota from mid-morning through early evening on 18 March 2014.  The graphic below shows the extent of the snow band around 1pm CDT.  At this time, the most intense portion of the band was only about 20-30 miles wide, but was producing snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour!  As a result, a very tight snowfall gradient was observed across the area.  For example, Watertown, SD only picked 0.1" of snow while Clear Lake, SD picked up a whopping 10.5"!  A graphical snowfall map and a few tabular snowfall listings are also provided below.

 

  • Clear Lake, SD - 10.5"
  • 5 SE Revillo, SD - 7.0"
  • Estelline, SD - 6.0"
  • Correll, MN - 6.0"
  • Wheaton, MN - 2.8"
  • Artichoke Lake, MN - 2.0"
  • Milbank, SD - 0.5"
  • Watertown, SD - 0.1"

 

Image 1:  KABR Reflecitivity at 1pm CDT:

 

 

Image 2:  Storm Total Snowfall Graphic: