BROOKINGS Rain, freezing rain, sleet and a touch of snow as well: Brookings and the surrounding area had a little bit of everything thanks to a winter storm that moved in Christmas Eve, but it looks to be clearer sailing starting Thursday.
The big deal will be getting rid of this weather system that we kind of have hanging around the area with some very light precipitation, Jeff Chapman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Sioux Falls, said in a Tuesday phone interview with the Brookings Register. Well have the possibility of seeing some freezing drizzle, drizzle or flurries over the next 12 to 36 hours it looks like, until we get into sometime on Wednesday night when things finally will taper off across the area.
County, city cleanup
Lingering weather aside, the cleanup process is already underway, with plows in Brookings County out in force, according to Brookings County Emergency Manager Bob Hill.
According to Brookings County Highway Superintendent (Brian Gustad), the county roadways are currently in pretty good shape, he wrote in an email to the Brookings Register on Tuesday. There are wet and slushy spots that may freeze overnight. Everyone should use caution while driving because what looks wet could be a thin layer of ice.
Within Brookings itself, city personnel were tackling the weather challenges as other community members celebrated Christmas or just plain hunkered down.
Mother Nature was kind to us on this latest weather event. All local roads within our community are open for travel, Public Works Director John Thompson wrote in an email Tuesday afternoon. Our dedicated street crews were out sanding intersections on Christmas Day, and (Tuesday) morning they started early, at 4 a.m., plowing the main roads within the community, before many of us woke up.
He continued, Although this winter is starting off slow, rest assured that your City of Brookings team is prepared and ready for the typical weather events we see here in beautiful South Dakota.
Thompson also offered some timely winter weather advice:
- Dont tailgate or crowd road maintenance equipment. The equipment may move slow, but the work is essential to keeping the community moving. Remember, large equipment needs space to maneuver and generally cannot stop on a dime.
- If snow is accumulating on city streets and the forecast calls for additional inches of snow during the night, try not to park on the street. Crews can plow empty streets much faster than streets with vehicles parked them.
- If you want to know when the city intends to implement a snow parking ban, sign up for alertson the city of Brookings website, found at https://cityofbrookings-sd.gov/, under Notify Me.
Drive safe and slow down when streets are slick and icy, Thompson wrote. Being a couple of minutes late is much better than being in an accident.
Its not just Brookings-area roads being affected, either Interstate 90 from Mitchell to Rapid City was re-opened Tuesday, according to a news release from the South Dakota Department of Transportation. Segments of the route had been closed on Christmas Day because of the winter storm. Other roads in South Dakota were still in various travel conditions on Tuesday afternoon, especially the farther west they were. Check out www.sd511.org for the latest information.
Looking ahead
For the folks who had their Christmas celebrations postponed because of winters shenanigans which were nowhere to be seen until, of course, Christmas arrived the outlook going into Thursday and beyond is promising. Well, promising for this time of year.
Theres really no signs of any strong Arctic air intrusions going into the start of the new year, Chapman said. Temperatures are going to continue to be a little bit on the above-normal side through at least the start of the weekend.
He noted that a stronger cold front is expected to push through the Brookings area starting later Saturday and into early Sunday, swinging the winds around to the north/northwest and bringing in cooler air. Highs are expected to be in the mid-20s on Sunday and Monday, with low temperatures possibly in the single digits by Sunday night.
Precipitation-wise, theres nothing major or minor, for that matter going into the start of the new year next week, with dry and quiet conditions the order of the day. Depending on your perspective, you can praise or blame the El Nino weather pattern for that.
Things have been tracking fairly along with what you would expect for that kind of an event, where were much warmer than normal, and precipitation can be a little on and off, Chapman said.
He said the strong El Nino is expected to linger into spring before things begin to weaken and go more neutral into summer.
Coming back to the present, what should Brookings-area motorists keep an eye on?
With temperatures down near freezing and all the moisture around for the precipitation over the last day or two, be careful of those areas on roadways that could freeze up and create some slick conditions, Chapman said.
Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].
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