Christmas Storm Brings Heavy Snow, Heavy Rain, and Ice

Overview

A strong winter storm impacted the region beginning on Saturday December 23 through Tuesday, December 26. Strong winds gusting between 35 and 50 mph and 4 to 10 inches of snow produced blizzard conditions west of the James River. Meanwhile 1/4 to 1/2 inch of ice fell in portions of southwestern Minnesota and northwestern Iowa, resulting in a few power outages and downed tree limbs.

Many areas also received significant liquid precipitation, with 1 to 2+ inches common across the region. Three locations broke 3-day December precipitation records.

Sioux Falls, SD received 1.76 inches from December 24-26, breaking the old record of 1.62 inches from December 21-23, 1920.
Windom, MN received 1.51 inches from December 24-26, breaking the old record of 1.42 inches from December 27-29, 2018.
Academy, SD received 2.15 inches from December 24-26, breaking the old record of 1.50 inches from December 10-12, 1949.

Note that snow, ice, and liquid precipitation observations listed below are through the morning of December 26, 2023.

Image of a power pole that was partially knocked down from a combination of ice and strong winds on Christmas Day. Photo courtesy of Dickinson County Emergency Management

Snow/Ice/Rainfall

Observed Snowfall from December 24-26, 2023

Location	Snowfall (in.)	Location	Ice Accumulation (in.)
Gregory, SD	13.8	2 miles WNW of Currie, MN	0.5
4 miles SW of Burke, SD	11.0	Orange City, IA	0.33
4 miles SW of Stickney, SD	9.0	7 miles ESE of Westfield, IA	0.3
2 miles SSE of Wessington, SD	8.0	2 miles NNW of Cherokee, IA	0.25
2 miles ESE of Yankton, SD	7.0	Le Mars, IA	0.25
Chamberlain, SD	6.6	1 mile N of Hospers, IA	0.25
6 miles SSE of Herrick, SD	6.5	Marshall, MN	0.25
2 miles S of Huron, SD	6.3	2 miles NE of Worthington, MN	0.2
Wessington Springs, SD	6.0	8 miles S of Lake Park, IA	0.2
1 mile SSE of Vermillion, SD	6.0	Sanborn, IA	0.2
Tyndall, SD	6.0	Sioux Falls Airport, SD	0.15
4 miles N of Martinsburg, NE	6.0	3 miles SSE of Lake Park, IA	0.13
7 miles N of Thurston, NE	6.0	Hull, IA	0.13
Newcastle, NE	6.0	Westbrook, MN	0.1
2 miles WNW of Ponca, NE	6.0
Menno, SD	5.0
1 mile SE of Mitchell, SD	5.0
Concord, NE	5.0
12 miles WNW of Platte, SD	4.5
10 miles ENE of Corsica, SD	4.0
Emerson, NE	4.0
1 mile W of Alexandria, SD	3.0
Homer, NE	3.0
3 miles SSE of North Sioux City, SD	2.0
Marion, SD	2.0
4 miles ENE of Salem, SD	2.0
Montrose, SD	2.0
De Smet, SD	1.5
Sioux City Airport, IA	1.5
Hartford, SD	1.1
Flandreau, SD	1.0
1 mile SSW of Howard, SD	1.0
Sioux Falls Airport, SD	0.9
1 mile NNW Canton, SD	0.7
2 miles NE of Brookings, SD	0.7
Edgerton, MN	0.5
8 miles SE of Hendricks, MN	0.2

Observed Precipitation from December 23-26, 2023

Location	Rainfall (in.)	Location	Rainfall (in.)
4 miles S of Cottonwood, MN	2.70	1 mile SE of Mitchell, SD	1.42
Marshall, MN	2.52	Yankton, SD	1.41
4 miles SW of Stickney, SD	2.45	4 miles S of Worthington, MN	1.40
Brookings, SD	2.29	Elkton, SD	1.39
Montrose, SD	2.26	Russell, MN	1.34
Aurora, SD	2.25	11 miles W of Dimock, SD	1.29
5 miles NNW of Jackson, MN	2.20	Canton, SD	1.29
2 miles NE of Academy, SD	2.15	2 miles NE of Sherman, MN	1.26
7 miles NNW of Brookings, SD	2.01	11 miles S of Emery, SD	1.25
4 miles ESE of Sioux Falls, SD	2.01	Le Mars, IA	1.21
5 miles W of Garretson, SD	1.98	Forestburg, SD	1.19
1 mile S of Brookings, SD	1.95	North Sioux City, IA	1.17
Edgerton, MN	1.92	Huron Airport, SD	1.16
Lake Park, MN	1.88	Sioux City Airport, IA	1.10
NWS Sioux Falls, SD	1.88	4 miles SE of Hardwick, MN	1.10
De Smet, SD	1.83	6 miles NW of Ihlen, MN	1.09
11 miles N of Coleman, SD	1.83	Corsica, SD	1.07
4 miles NW of Renner, SD	1.80	4 miles SW of of Burke, SD	1.04
Orange City, IA	1.75	Luverne, MN	1.04
Hurley, SD	1.74	7 miles SE of Kimball, SD	1.04
2 miles SE of Madison, SD	1.71	Sanborn, IA	1.03
Sibley, IA	1.70	3 miles N of Sioux Center, IA	1.02
2 miles NW of Bigelow, MN	1.69	5 miles N of Pipestone, MN	0.96
2 miles NE of Brookings, SD	1.68	8 miles SE of Hendricks, MN	0.93
Sioux Falls Airport, SD	1.67	Gayville, SD	0.93
Hills, MN	1.66	8 miles S of Dovray, MN	0.89
1 mile NE of Cherokee, IA	1.64	1 mile S of Rock Rapids, IA	0.88
1 mile SSE of Milford, IA	1.63	Hartley, IA	0.87
Sheldon, IA	1.63	Slayton Airport, MN	0.87
2 miles SW of Worthington, MN	1.63	Ivanhoe, MN	0.85
5 miles W of Howard, SD	1.63	4 miles SE of Olivet, SD	0.85
EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, SD	1.61	6 miles NW of Orleans, MN	0.82
Orange City, IA	1.60	1 mile N of Rock Valley	0.79
1 mile E of Spirit Lake, IA	1.59	Sioux Center, IA	0.77
2 miles NNE of Worthington, MN	1.59	Hawarden, IA	0.76
Brookings Airport, SD	1.58	4 miles SW of George, IA	0.73
11 miles SSE of Burke, SD	1.57	6 miles NW of Hinton, IA	0.72
Brewster, MN	1.56	South Sioux City, NE	0.59
1 mile SE of Vermillion, SD	1.50	5 miles SSW of Ellsworth, IA	0.53
Gregory, SD	1.50	Hubbard, NE	0.49
6 miles NW of Montrose, SD	1.50
1 mile SW of Linn Grove, IA	1.49
Chamberlain, SD	1.48
5 miles NNW of Marion, SD	1.48
Tripp, SD	1.45
7 miles S of Spencer, IA	1.44
4 miles E of Montrose, SD	1.44
Tyndall, SD	1.43
7 miles NNE of Huron, SD	1.42

Photos & Video


Image of branches down in Le Mars, Iowa due to freezing rain on Christmas Day. Photo courtesy of David Skou	Near zero visibility on I-90 near Kimball, South Dakota during the afternoon of December 25. Photo courtesy of the South Dakota Department of Transportation	Here are a list of 7 locations and where the 3-day total precipitation ranked for December. For Sioux Falls, Windom, and Academy it was the heaviest 3-day rainfall ever recorded in December.	Temperatures rose 15-20 degrees in the afternoon in parts of Iowa and Minnesota as a warm front moved through. A cold front then came through in the evening dropping temperatures by 20 degrees.

Wind

Location	Wind Gust (mph)
Plankinton (SDDOT)	56
Platte-Winner Bridge (SDDOT)	50
Ft. Randall Dam (SDDOT)	50
Kimball (SDDOT)	50
Dallas (SDDOT)	50
Dixon (SDDOT)	49
Lane (SDDOT)	47
Corsica (SDDOT)	46
Wolsey (SDDOT)	45
Tripp (SDDOT)	45
Huron Regional Airport	45
Florence (MNDOT)	44
Lake Andes RAWS	44
2ESE Wessington Springs	43
Chamberlain Municipal Airport	43
White Lake (SD Mesonet)	43
Tyndall (SDDOT)	42
Wagner (SDDOT)	42
Forestburg (SDDOT)	42
Magnolia (MNDOT)	42
Davis (SDDOT)	40
Cavour (SDDOT)	40
Stanley Corner (SDDOT)	40
Taunton (MNDOT)	40

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Radar loop of the beginning of the event during the afternoon and evening of December 23, 2023	Radar loop of the first round of heavy rainfall that occurred December 24, 2023.	Radar loop of the second round of rain, sleet, freezing rain and snow that occurred on December 25, 2023.	Radar loop of the end of the storm on December 26, 2023.