Warmer-than-usual temperatures spread through South Dakota on Sunday, but nothing hot enough to hit a record.
Joe Sheehan, a technician with the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, said Mitchell’s high temperature on Sunday was 53 degrees, falling far short of Jan. 19’s record-high temperature of 60 degrees set in 1900.
It was still nearly 20 degrees warmer than usual for mid-January in Mitchell, though, Sheehan said. He said the average high temperature for Mitchell this time of year is around 28 degrees. National Weather Service data reported similar higher-than-usual temperatures across much of the southern and south-central part of the state - Winner and Yankton both reached 61 degrees - though Sheehan said he was not aware of any records being broken in South Dakota.
It’s a short-lived heat wave, Sheehan said. Today’s temperatures are expected to peak in the mid-20s, falling to the low teens overnight with a windchill that could dip to 3 degrees below zero.
Tuesday looks to be similar, with highs in the low 20s and lows around 13 degrees. Sheehan said the forecast predicts Wednesday night into Thursday morning as the coldest for the week, when temperatures could fall to 10 below zero for the lows with highs in the teens. After that, he said the forecast predicts a bit of a reprieve, with temperatures possibly climbing above freezing by Friday.
