Blizzard Pounds the Dakotas

Sioux Falls, South Dakota -- Just an FYI to the other 48 states: Jack Frost ain't nippin' at anything in the Dakotas. Like a blinding white, furious locomotive, snowfall that hasn't been seen in the Great Plains for a couple of years pummeled the Western part of South Dakota yesterday and a relentless cascade of snow forced Interstate closure, leaving an unprecedented amount of clean up to take place over the next couple of days. As a native Oregonian who moved to South Dakota seven years ago, all I have to say is this place is a wreck.

Over 200 vehicles succumbed to the treacherous conditions laid out by Mother Nature. Cars and trucks were unable to move or left unattended as motorists vacated their vehicles in search of safety. On a stretch of road that routinely is a boring, flat jaunt for most travelers, Thursday's conditions created enough havoc and sizable snowdrifts that most anybody would have been vastly overstimulated. That would be if said motorist could even see two inches past the hood of their vehicle. Needless to say, if you have some of those brilliant folk who are convinced they are invincible and attempt to persevere through it. Its a blizzard, people. Why on Earth would you even want to attempt to venture out? Hmm.. maybe if I drive out against this gigantic wall of frozen precipitation, good things will happen to me. Think people.

Today, road crews had the daunting task of clearing the way along Interstate 90. Access from Mitchell to Spearfish, a stretch estimated at roughly 320 miles, had been shut down as the storm rendered the roads impassable. Unlike the rest of the United States tourist attractions which offer sunny and glamorous weather conditions, the Badlands, the famous Wall Drug, and especially the town of Deadwood, South Dakota, were beaten to the point of submission from the frozen blast of chaos. Mount Rushmore might as well have been a sculpture of the Marx Brothers, and I doubt any spectators would have known the difference, at least not today.

Numerous travelers made the choice to ignore weather advisories have since complicated the efforts of road crews as their vehicles littered the Interstate. It's not enough to make their own life harder, but I'm certain that the road crews really appreciate your decision to push on. I bet each one of them woke up this morning thinking to themselves, "Boy, I can't wait to scoop some overzealous moron out a ditch today."

During my own workday, a co-worker and I waited for a family member to come visit their son, a client of ours who was anxious to visit with his mother All it took was one phone call for both of us to realize that they prospective visit may be delayed a day ... or two .... or three.

Residents of the Black Hills area were absolute prisoners in their own homes as wind gusts exceeded 70 miles per hour in some areas and knocked out power to roughly 13,000 homes. Rapid City, South Dakota's second largest city, and many neighboring areas were rendered helpless due to the imposing conditions. People were warned to stay in their homes until conditions could be improved. On a positive note, for a state that is routinely prepared in most circumstances to take most weather catastrophes, I'm fairly certain that most of the children in the Black Hills actually got to enjoy a snow day for once.

This morning a light snow complicated travel in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, but not to a large extent. Snow continued throughout the day. After speaking with family who reside about three hours north near Aberdeen, South Dakota, I learned that the storm had skimmed their neck of the woods as well. By all accounts, I feel very fortunate to be on the outskirts of such deplorable conditions. Thirty-six inches of snow is amongst the reports that I got. So far, no word of any casualties due to the storm. If that be the case, Mother Nature truly spared us this time.