Snow and Blizzard Conditions in Upper Midwest

Snow whipped by high winds prompted blizzard warnings for eastern South Dakota and southwestern Minnesota today. A small but intense low pressure system over southern Minnesota coupled with a ridge of high pressure across the northern Rockies produced the tight pressure gradient (note the tight packing of the isobars - lines of equal pressure- in the map below) that resulted in the high winds.

Surface weather map at 12:00 p.m. CST today

Snowfall amounts were heavy, with 12 to 17 inches of snow reported in a band across south-central Minnesota as of this evening, stretching from the South Dakota border to north of the Twin Cities. It is still snowing in some areas and final snowfall totals may be higher. Below is the snowfall map for the 48 hour period ending at 7:00 a.m. local time today

This map is an objective analysis of NWS Cooperative Observer Program (COOP)
and Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) snowfall reports.
The map is produced by the NWS.

The CoCoRaHS snowfall map for Brookings County, South Dakota this morning shows amounts from 10 to 12 inches. Brookings County is in east-central South Dakota along the Minnesota border

24 hour snowfall map for Brookings County, SD for December 9, 2012