Officials say heavy, wet snow on top of trees still holding onto their leaves brought some power lines crashing down Monday morning in the Southern Black Hills.  It was enough to turn the lights off on more than 2,000 people in several communities, including Hill City.

The calendar says fall, but it looks like a different season in parts of the Southern Black Hills.

"Woke up to about, oh, I don't know, 8 inches, 10 inches of snow. Nice and wet, and a little early," Hill City resident Bob Stanfiel said.

"Lots of snow. Winter, actually. It's very wet and heavy. It's the stuff breaking the power lines and the trees and just, generally, making a mess," Hill City resident Eugenia Whitaker said.

The mess did snap several lines, shutting off lights from Hill City to Custer State Park.

"The whole town is quiet today," Whitaker said.

Keeping kids home from school and sending shop owners out with shovels.

"It was a surprise to everybody. I mean, it was snowing yesterday and I was watching it but I thought, 'Oh, it's not going to amount to anything.'  Didn't worry about it and then I wake up this morning, and it's like, 'Hello!'  We have a lot," Stanfiel said.

While most people were unprepared for how much snow fell in Hill City, people say it's just part of living in the Black Hills.

"That's just how it happens and you just have to be ready for it," Stanfiel said.

Advice that's bound to stick longer than Monday's snow.