South Dakota Blizzard

[pmer]

Last weeks blizzard in South Dakota was very bad for thousands of cattle, sheep and horses. A day of rain and two days of snow with 60 MPH winds. They are finding cattle that died of hypothermia in draws, creeks and fences.

Prayers going out to those ranchers and others affected by that storm.

http://farmprogress.com/story-livestock-losses-may-top-100000-9-103295

[429421Cowboy]

Thank you for trying to spread the word on this, it is a major disaster to the livestock industry there and I cannot imagine how had it hit some of the people. Through all this the MSM and Nobama have been silent, not to mention a lot of the relief help that might have been there is now nonexistent because of the shutdown.

Prayers to all in this struggle, from one livestock producer to the next.

[pmer]

Yeah October and November winter storms can be bad. The midwest had the Armistice Day Blizzard in early November of 1940 where 145 people died (I just looked it up) Nice weather in the morning and by evening it was like a different world. My dad is old enough to remember. Then in the late 90's we had about 3 feet of snow for Halloween too.

I think it was late November when the Edmond Fitzgerald sunk in Lake Superior too.

I think it's odd how little is heard about the livestock loses in the Dakotas.

[waksupi]

That's a sad loss. There are ranches in Montana donating some stock to help replace some cattle and sheep, but it will take some years to build the herds back.

[DHurtig]

Actually the winds gusted to over 70 miles an hour. Here in Rapid we got about 30 inches of snow and over 4 inches if moisture between the rain and snow. The trees and shrubs were still in full foliage. There is hardly a tree in town that doesn't have broken limbs to some degree and shrubs are laid flat on the ground. Many trees carried so much weight from the snow and the ground was so saturated the the high winds just pushed the trees over. This is common in light sandy soils, but we are heavy clay. The sound of all the limbs breaking was like being in a war zone. Looking at the trees afterwards, it looks like a war zone too.

Our back door was protected by a covered patio, so we could get out the back door. Our next door neighbor had all 3 doors sealed shut by 3 to 4 feet of snow. As soon as we got out my daughter went and cleared a door for him to get out. Daughter and I spent 5 hours with shovels and snow blower cleaning out around the cars in the drive way and opening a path through the walks. finished the next day and the we took the blower over to my other daughters house. Her Mazda couldn't be seen and her husbands crew cab Dodge pick up had snow 4 feet deep over the cab and you could only just see the right rear corner of the truck.

[jsizemore]

CBS news reported $200 million loss in cattle alone. The cleanup will take a while.

[Love Life]

Holy smokes. I had to search for info on this. Very devastating, and hardly a peep. Thank you for posting this.

[runfiverun]

Oh WOW!
i thought everybody knew about this, i just barely skirted this storm and dropped out into Casper Wy, right before it hit bad enough for the highways to be closed.
the storm and livestock loss is the talk of the Ag community around here, well that and the wheat that still needs to be cut and probably won't be because of the weather.

[Love Life]

Kind of funny how the MSM has set us back almost 100 years when it comes to passing info...

[MT Gianni]

Some have had 100 % calf loss, expect somewhat higher prices and futures.

[Idaho Mule]

It is a big tragedy, and people still bitch about the price of beef. JW

[Love Life]

I'll be changing around the grocery buy this month. Looks like I need to bulk buy my beef.

[garandsrus]

How did the pheasants do during the storm? Are the lakes and ponds frozen? A couple friends and I are planning a trip to SD (Mitchell area) in a few weeks. I'm wondering if its worth coming out. We were mainly going duck hunting, but planned on pheasants also. May need to change the plans!

Simply amazing to see the cattle that died! Very sad.

[MaryB]

I remember the Halloween blizzard... I was at work at the casino and when I left with a friend we barely made it to my house. She tried to get back to hers and made it 100 feet and buried her truck. Ended up spending 3 days at my house waiting for roads to get opened back up.

Only one worse was the winter of 96/97 when houses were buried by spring. I had a 25 foot drift up to the peak on my house and had to tunnel out my front door several times.

[MtGun44]

What the heck is going on that this isn't ANYWHERE in the news?

Bill

[Thin Man]

We remember the Halloween storms in Minnesota (1991) - we were there, had our daughter at the hospital for a long-term procedure. This was actually 2 separate storms that merged just before passing over the twin cities of Minneapolis - St. Paul. The first storm gave up 18" of snow and as it passed the snow slowed but did not stop as the second storm began it's 16" snowfall. Total ground cover was 34", and the entire region was locked down. Public officials claimed they were used to dealing with snow, but just not THAT much. This really was a winter wonderland for the kids. Some vendors made the most of it and sold t-shirts inscribed "I survived the blizzard of '91". I even got to operate a snow blower the size of a garden tiller for a while, was great fun. We had to make 2 passes over the exact same ground to get the snow cover low enough that vehicle wheels could find solid ground surface for traction. A few people whined but most laughed at it and pitched in to help. Fun memories.
Thin Man

[Rick N Bama]

I saw a small snippet about this on one of the alphabet networks news shows last night. Maybe 30 seconds worth.

Rick

[pmer]

Deer hunting rifle season was after that Halloween storm. Was the only time I had to use snow shoes for hunting.

[Bad Water Bill]

Well I am old enough to remember the storms of 67 and 77 in Chiraq.

27" of wet white stuff fell in less than a day each time.

At the end of JANUARY the temp was 67 and the next day the temp dropped to below freezing.

Drove on bare pavement to work. By noon most places of business sent everyone home with a "hope you make it there".

I was stuck for 3 days and heard many stories of folks stepping up to help out total strangers.

It does seem a shame that with all of todays modern technology there is 0 way of salvaging the meat off of the cattle that froze.

[MaryB]

Would be great to salvage it but all the government red tape would block it.

[pdawg_shooter]

What the heck is going on that this isn't ANYWHERE in the news?

Bill

South Dakota is a bit like Kansas when it comes to reporting. Just a fly over state. East and west coast people, and the MSM are all east and west coast people have no clue that people actually live here. Just look who get visits in the last campaigns for president , sure nuff wasn't us.

[pmer]

I missed out on what MSM is?

[pdawg_shooter]

Main Stream Media.

[starmac]

The only thing the msm is concerned with is the govt shutdown, It is downright scary what else is probably going on that nobody is talking about.
I actually saw several articles on how devastating it was on the ranchers, This will likely break a lot of them, sad indeed.

[Moondawg]

I think the media probably ignored it because it did not fit in with the claims of global warming.

[Rick N Bama]

Just as some of you guys think that we in the South put up with heat & humidity all year, some of us might tend to think that you guys put up with Blizzards like this every winter. So I take it this storm was unusual in every way?

Rick

[redneckdan]

It was rather early in the season and it was very heavy wet snow.

Just like you southern folk adapt to rediculous hot weather; we adapt to the cold. But it takes time to get ready for the winter. People just weren't ready yet.

[runfiverun]

plus it was a record for a one day snow fall amount in that area.
imagine going from 60-f to over 30"s of snow with a 20+ mph wind in a 24 hour period.

[longranger]

What no pictures of state politicians giving BHO a big hug and thanking the Feral Gubmint for all the money they will send ?

[Rick N Bama]

It was rather early in the season and it was very heavy wet snow.

Just like you southern folk adapt to rediculous hot weather; we adapt to the cold. But it takes time to get ready for the winter. People just weren't ready yet.


plus it was a record for a one day snow fall amount in that area.
imagine going from 60-f to over 30"s of snow with a 20+ mph wind in a 24 hour period.

Thanks for the education.....I honestly thought you guys would be ready for something like this along about the first of September.

At times we do get some extreme cold (for the area), but nothing like this.

Rick

[starmac]

There isn't much way to get ready for the weather they had, other than to sell off the heard before hand.

[Gibbs44]

What the heck is going on that this isn't ANYWHERE in the news?

Bill

Oh heck, farming/ranching isn't even needed anymore, people just go to the grocery store when they need something. Unfortunately, so much of the time this is the way any kind of livestock or farming industry is looked at, hence the lack of coverage.

A buddy of mine in the Ag Club at NC State, years ago mind you, had someone tell him they didn't care what happened to farmers because they got their food from the grocery store. I can only assume this applies to livestock since they get their beef prepackaged at the grocery store also. I can't imagine that public opinion has gotten any better since.

[randyrat]

Yeah October and November winter storms can be bad. The midwest had the Armistice Day Blizzard in early November of 1940 where 145 people died (I just looked it up) Nice weather in the morning and by evening it was like a different world. My dad is old enough to remember. Then in the late 90's we had about 3 feet of snow for Halloween too.

I think it was late November when the Edmond Fitzgerald sunk in Lake Superior too.

I think it's odd how little is heard about the livestock loses in the Dakotas. There were people that died in the Tiffany bottoms hunting ducks, they couldn't get out quick enough and froze to death, I had heard the stories very sad.
I did hear a little bit of the S. D. storm. I can believe the MSM would just blow it over as FLY OVER COUNTRY, just not enough there for advertizing attention.
I do feel for them, I hope it is not a sign of the kind of winter that is coming.
I heard some areas had 48" snow with 70 miles/ hrs wind gust.

[starmac]

I would think for many of the ranchers that lost over fifty percent of their heard, also means they lost their land, house and job, no matter what the rest of the winter brings.

As far as people thinking their food comes from the grocery store. There are astounding numbers of people that truly believe that very thing. I have had discussions with many people that believe trucks don't belong on roads, I generally ask them how they intend to get groceries and toilet paper, the answer is always from the store like I always have and I don't need a fricken truck to bring it too me. That is when I quit the conversation, as there is nothing to do for these folks.

[waksupi]

Weather can change fast. In the early 90's, I went to have coffee at 8AM with some friends. It was 35 degrees when I left home. When I got back home an hour and a half later, it was 10 degrees and falling. Bottomed out at minus 37 by noon, and stayed there. Wiped out a lot of the cherry orchards around the lake.

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

A little on a historical blizzard:
The Children's Blizzard earned its tragic name because of its timing. On Jan. 12, 1888, temperatures dropped from a relatively balmy few degrees above freezing to a wind chill of minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 40 degrees Celsius) in the Dakota Territory and Nebraska. Because of the warm day, thousands were caught unprepared for cold weather, including schoolchildren sent home by their teachers during the storm. The death toll was 235.

[Smoke4320]

I would think for many of the ranchers that lost over fifty percent of their heard, also means they lost their land, house and job, no matter what the rest of the winter brings.

As far as people thinking their food comes from the grocery store. There are astounding numbers of people that truly believe that very thing. I have had discussions with many people that believe trucks don't belong on roads, I generally ask them how they intend to get groceries and toilet paper, the answer is always from the store like I always have and I don't need a fricken truck to bring it too me. That is when I quit the conversation, as there is nothing to do for these folks.

add in those who say I just order it from Amazon or Ebay .. No clue how anything is moved thru this country

[varmintpopper]

so much for Global warming !

Good Shooting

Lindy

[Iowa Fox]

Oh heck, farming/ranching isn't even needed anymore, people just go to the grocery store when they need something. Unfortunately, so much of the time this is the way any kind of livestock or farming industry is looked at, hence the lack of coverage.

A buddy of mine in the Ag Club at NC State, years ago mind you, had someone tell him they didn't care what happened to farmers because they got their food from the grocery store. I can only assume this applies to livestock since they get their beef prepackaged at the grocery store also. I can't imagine that public opinion has gotten any better since.

And these people get to vote.