SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Meteorological winter is officially in the books.
For the third year in a row, the advantage went to warm and quiet winter fans compared to the alternative… though you may not have thought it would end up like this if you just looked at December on its own for our East River communities.
While temperatures trended slightly above average for highs in Sioux Falls, we received a full foot of snow over the course of the month. Aberdeen was near average for highs and lows, though they were about two inches below average on snowfall. West River was an entirely different story. You can start to see the warming trend with how Pierre did in December, but Rapid City set the tone with highs being nearly eleven degrees above average!
Despite the back-and-forth on the thermometer, January ended up pretty close to average in Sioux Falls, but the big change was the lack of snow. That’s going to be a running theme going forward in our recap. Aberdeen ended up above average for temperatures but below average on snow for the start of 2026. Pierre and Rapid City followed suit, with above-average highs and below-average snow across the board…