A series of cold fronts will sweep through KELOLAND for Christmas week. No big snowstorms on the way, but there will be some occasional windy, light rain/snow events that could slow down motorists on the move for the holiday.

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Tonight we’ll have a low pressure system slide along the North Dakota border, and it will bring a broad swath of cloud cover. There could be a few flurries with single digit lows in Northern South Dakota, but little or no accumulation of snowfall. The rest of KELOLAND will have clouds and lows in the teens. Rapid City and the west will be breezy.

Tomorrow will be windy, with a brisk NW wind bringing in more cool air. Skies will be mostly sunny, with afternoon temperatures in the mid 20s to low 30s.

The middle of the week will be much warmer. On Wednesday, a south breeze will combine with partly to mostly sunny skies to push us to the mid 30s in the north and the 40s in the south. Rapid City could reach 50.

Thursday will be partly cloudy and even warmer. Eastern KELOLAND will be in the low to mid 40s, more than ten degrees above normal. Rapid City could again get into the low 50s.

Another low pressure system will come through northern KELOLAND on Friday. There could be some sprinkles or light snow showers, mainly in the morning. They will be very light. Temperatures will again be mild, in the mid 30s to low 40s. Again, amounts will be very light, though it could result in slower speeds on the highways.

Christmas Day Saturday also looks mild. With a front in the north, temperatures will be coolest there – around 30 after a morning low in the teens. Southern KELOLAND will be much warmer, around 40 degrees for afternoon highs.

Another cool front could result in some morning snow showers on Sunday. Very little if any accumulation. Sunday highs will be in the upper 20s to mid 30s. It will be breezy in western South Dakota as the next cold front approaches.

The second half of next week looks dramatically colder. At this time, we anticipate highs in the mid teens for Sioux Falls for New Year’s weekend. Northern South Dakota will be even colder, and may not get out of single digits after subzero mornings for New Year’s weekend.