Storm Center Update - Sunday AM

_{Early today things are rather quiet, albeit breezy out of the east and southeast.  This all precedes our late-winter storm later today and into the overnight hours.  Snow itself shouldn’t be as bad as previous storms this winter but the wind will cause bigger issues.} 
There is now a Blizzard Watch posted for the northeast corner, which includes Aberdeen and Watertown.  There is also a Winter Weather Advisory for far southeastern parts of South Dakota and into Minnesota and Iowa.
The light snow this morning for the far northeast didn’t amount to much as expected but it’s certainly a very chilly start on this St. Patrick’s Day.  We will warm up somewhat today, though we’ll still end up below average in most spots.  Wind is already blowing yesterday’s snow around in Rapid City and the southwest but there should be periodic clearing this morning across much of South Dakota.  Winds will intensify through noon ahead of the fast-paced storm coming out of Montana.  Since the center of the storm will track just to our north, we’re looking at a thinner band of moisture that will move through quickly.  This afternoon it should mostly be rain but those cold north and northwest winds will cool many down before the evening.
It still looks like rain will turn to snow right around Sioux Falls later tonight, just around midnight.  To the west it should be mainly rain and to the east of Huron to Sioux Falls it should be snow.  We’re still going with between a trace to a few inches in the southeast with just a bit more for the far northeast.  Snow will be difficult to measure due to wind and drifting.  Reduced visibility looks to be an issue on the roads in the northeast, especially since there is an existing snowpack.
This system pulls eastwards early tomorrow morning leaving the cold northwest winds and a cloudy day.  The start of spring doesn’t look much better but we could see some sun Tuesday and into Wednesday.  A weak disturbance moves into the northeast late Tuesday, so watch for that.  The next best chance for moisture is late Thursday through Friday.