SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - The National Weather Service on Thursday evening revised the precipitation totals that another spring snow storm is expected to bring to eastern South Dakota.
The weather service originally expected the storm to dump up to 10 inches, but the storm’s path shifted eastward Thursday morning, meteorologist Brad Adams in Sioux Falls said. The revised projections show southeast South Dakota could get between 4-5 inches by midnight, while southwest Minnesota could see 5-6 inches and parts of northwest Iowa up to 7 inches through the night.
Snow began to roll through Sioux Falls just after 4 p.m., and the weather service recorded 1.7 inches through 7 p.m.
Several schools in southeast South Dakota sent students home early.
This is the third significant snowfall in the state this week. A system that passed through late Sunday into early Tuesday dumped several inches of snow in western and northeastern South Dakota.
Western South Dakota got up to 8 inches on Wednesday. East Rapid City set a record for the date with 6.1 inches, breaking the record of 5.8 inches set in 1918, according to the weather service.
The snow led to dozens of crashes in the Rapid City area, including a school bus that slid off a road and became stuck in snow. The driver and his five passengers were not hurt, according to the Rapid City Journal.
Visibilities east of Interstate 29 on Thursday could be reduced to a quarter of a mile due to blowing snow. Wind gusts are expected to reach 30 mph in that area.
A quick warm-up is forecast after the latest storm, with high temperatures rising to the 40s and 50s at the weekend.
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