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Weather alerts in South Dakota today: does anything affect me?
National Weather Service
Official Freeze Warning in effect for South Dakota.
What it means
- Freeze or cold: protect sensitive plants, pets and outdoor pipes. In extreme cold, dress in layers, limit time outdoors and use space heaters and generators safely.
Always follow your local National Weather Service office and local officials. Details below.
Official weather alerts for South Dakota
Freeze Warning until Sat, Oct 17, 9:00 AM CDT
Freeze Warning issued October 16 at 9:00PM CDT until October 17 at 9:00AM CDT by NWS Sioux Falls SD
Lyon; Sioux; Plymouth; Woodbury; Lincoln; Lyon; Murray; Pipestone; Rock; Dixon; Dakota; Kingsbury; Brookings; Miner; Lake; Moody; Hanson; McCook; Minnehaha; Hutchinson; Turner; Lincoln; Bon Homme; Yankton; Clay; Union
Full text from the National Weather Service
FREEZE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 9 AM CDT SATURDAY
* WHAT...Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 30 expected. * WHERE...Portions of northwest and west central Iowa, southwest Minnesota, northeast Nebraska, and east central and southeast South Dakota. * WHEN...From midnight tonight to 9 AM CDT Saturday. * IMPACTS...Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.
Instructions: Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold.
Official NWS page · NWS Sioux Falls SD
Freeze Warning until Sat, Oct 17, 9:00 AM CDT
Freeze Warning issued October 16 at 8:15PM CDT until October 17 at 9:00AM CDT by NWS Aberdeen SD
Traverse; Big Stone; Codington; Grant; Hamlin; Deuel
Full text from the National Weather Service
FREEZE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 9 AM CDT SATURDAY
* WHAT...Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 30 expected. * WHERE...In Minnesota, Big Stone and Traverse Counties. In South Dakota, Codington, Deuel, Grant, and Hamlin Counties. * WHEN...From midnight tonight to 9 AM CDT Saturday. * IMPACTS...Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.
Instructions: Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold.
Official NWS page · NWS Aberdeen SD
2 advisories and statements
Frost Advisory until Sat, Oct 17, 9:00 AM CDT
Frost Advisory issued October 16 at 9:00PM CDT until October 17 at 9:00AM CDT by NWS Sioux Falls SD
Beadle; Gregory; Jerauld; Sanborn; Brule; Aurora; Davison; Charles Mix; Douglas
Full text from the National Weather Service
FROST ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 9 AM CDT SATURDAY
* WHAT...Temperatures as low as 33 will result in frost formation. * WHERE...Portions of central, east central, south central, and southeast South Dakota. * WHEN...From midnight tonight to 9 AM CDT Saturday. * IMPACTS...Frost could harm sensitive outdoor vegetation. Sensitive outdoor plants may be killed if left uncovered.
Instructions: Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold.
Official NWS page · NWS Sioux Falls SD
Frost Advisory until Sat, Oct 17, 9:00 AM CDT
Frost Advisory issued October 16 at 8:15PM CDT until October 17 at 9:00AM CDT by NWS Aberdeen SD
Brown; Marshall; Roberts; Day; Spink; Clark
Full text from the National Weather Service
FROST ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 9 AM CDT SATURDAY
* WHAT...Temperatures as low as 32 will result in frost formation. * WHERE...Brown, Clark, Day, Marshall, Roberts, and Spink Counties. * WHEN...From midnight tonight to 9 AM CDT Saturday. * IMPACTS...Frost could harm sensitive outdoor vegetation. Sensitive outdoor plants may be killed if left uncovered.
Instructions: Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold.
Official NWS page · NWS Aberdeen SD
Storm Prediction Center · today's severe-storm outlook · issued 1 h ago
None of these cities are inside today's thunderstorm or severe-storm areas.
Official SPC Day 1 Convective Outlook (NOAA), valid until Sat, Oct 17, 7:00 AM CDT. It shows the chance of severe storms in the area, not a warning for your street. SPC outlook
U.S. Drought Monitor · map of October 13
61% of South Dakota is in drought, including 8.9% in severe drought or worse.
Share of the state's area. Updated every Thursday by the U.S. Drought Monitor (National Drought Mitigation Center, USDA and NOAA). Drought builds over weeks and months: one rainy day rarely ends it.
Weather in South Dakota now
What is normal in October in South Dakota
changing season Storms become less frequent, but a smaller second severe-weather season can occur in October and November, mainly in Oklahoma and Texas. The first snow and freeze arrive on the northern Plains.
El Niño is under way, and NOAA expects it to be strong (NOAA, October 8, 2026).
On the southern Plains it tends to bring a wetter, cooler winter; the northern Plains tend to be milder and drier.
These are general tendencies: every year is different, and your local forecast comes first.
Typical climate per NOAA and regional weather services. It describes the season, not the forecast for a given day.
Where will it rain most? Forecast by city
Total rain each day, in inches. Wettest cities first.
| City | Tomorrow | Sunday | Monday |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sioux Falls | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rapid City | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aberdeen | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pierre | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Automatic forecast from a computer model (MET Norway, data CC BY 4.0). Not an official alert: for watches and warnings, follow National Weather Service.
What do the inches mean?
As a rough guide: under a quarter inch in a day is light rain; 1 to 2 inches is a heavy downpour; more than 2 inches in a day is very heavy rain that can flood low-lying areas and roads.
Several rainy days in a row saturate the ground: even a modest storm can then cause flash flooding and rising rivers.
Cities in South Dakota
Official sources for South Dakota
Emergency: 911