Major winter storm may alter New Year’s Eve plans

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Travelers might want to reconsider their New Year’s Eve plans.

While they may enjoy having a boisterous good time on the party-hearty holiday, the National Weather Service says a winter storm will out-howl them Friday night.

Meteorologist Jennifer Hacker, of Sioux Falls, said a strong storm will rampage through eastern South Dakota starting tonight and lasting through Friday night.

The storm will dump between 6 and 10 inches of snow, Hacker said. The snow will be tossed about by north and west winds that will hit 20 to 35 mph.

Add to that temperatures that will drop to as low as 6 below zero Friday night, and it’s a recipe for a major winter storm, she said. Wind chills are expected to drop to 20 to 30 below zero Friday night.

There will be “widespread blowing and drifting” and the strong possibility of road closures, she said.

“So definitely a cold start to the new year,” Hacker said.

It will be caused by a strong upper-level, low-pressure system, she said.

The storm will follow a relatively pleasant morning today, according to Hacker. The forecast calls for highs in the mid-30s through this morning.

By late morning or early afternoon, however, fog will creep in and the temperature will drop to the teens and light precipitation —“drizzle or rain, limited ice potential,” Hacker said — will continue.

“The front comes through the Mitchell area Thursday morning,” she said.

Winds could gust as high as 34 mph, according to the NWS. What was light rain earlier in the day will turn into sleet, ice and light snow.

By early Friday morning, the low will be around 2 with a wind chill of 19 below as a “blustery” north-northwest wind between 16 and 24 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph, hits.

The storm is projected to grow stronger Friday, with winds still topping 30 mph gusts and heavy snow at times.

The last night of 2010 should be extremely cold and windy with continuing snow, Hacker said.

However, the New Year will arrive with little snow despite cold temps and wind. The low Saturday night is predicted to be 2 below.

Sunday, however, is forecast to be mostly sunny, with a high near 19.

The snow will bring Mitchell back into line to where it is most winters, Hacker said. So far, Mitchell has received 5.9 inches of snow according to the Sioux Falls office of the National Weather Service, which is 3.3 inches below the average.

There are numerous events scheduled as people greet the new year. The inaugural Mike Miller Classic, a high school hoops tournament, starts today and runs through Friday morning in Mitchell.

Several area bars are featuring live entertainment or a DJ to lure partiers to their business.

Other private events are also planned. Jill Larson, the Highland Conference Center event and sales manager, said the storm won’t stop a wedding that is scheduled at the center Friday night.

“The show will go on,” Larson said. “The wedding will happen, no matter what the weather is.”

The South Dakota Highway Patrol held a conference call Wednesday afternoon to “make our game plan” on dealing with the New Year’s Eve storm, according to Lt. Alan Welsh, assistant district commander of the Sioux Falls Patrol headquarters.

“It always makes our job more difficult,” Welsh said of a large storm.

“Even if there’s no traffic, we still do sweeps and drives,” he said. “We’re out in it.”

Welsh said if roads are closed, people should be aware of the stiff fines and potential civil penalty for causing a rescue to be mounted.

The potential for problems is only heightened by the fact that it’s a holiday, a three-day weekend for many people and the end of a long break for some who may be on the road after Christmas, he said.

The Highway Patrol will put off-duty troopers on-call and on standby to assist with any storm-related concerns, Welsh said.

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