Local resident experiences SD blizzard
Mary Tobia stands behind a snow bank after her neighbors helped shovel her and her husband out of the storm. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
While many of us were enjoying unusually warm weather this weekend in Pennsylvania, a Palmerton resident was caught in a spring blizzard about 1,500 miles west in South Dakota.
Spring snowstorm Xanto will go down in history for numerous reasons, especially for Times News correspondent Mary Tobia.
“A few weeks ago, as we are traveling to visit my home state of South Dakota, I say to my husband, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to have a really old-fashioned snowstorm like I did when I was young?’ I got my wish, and from now on I’ll think twice before wishing for something as serious as that,” Tobia said.
The day before the storm hit — April 12 — Tobia said it was much like it was here, sunny and unusually warm in the region for a spring day.
“Before the storm it was sunny, warm and in the 60s and 70s. Birds were singing, the grass was turning green and flowers were starting to show. It’s hard to believe that a very severe blizzard was headed our way,” Tobia said.
It dumped some of the highest April snow amounts the Midwest has seen.
Snow totals around the South Dakota area were as high as 22 inches in Winner, with Sioux Falls seeing just over 13 inches and Brookings getting 11 inches, while further south just 6 inches of snow fell over Yankton.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, received 13.7 inches of snow from Xanto on Saturday, making it the heaviest one-day April snow total on record in the city.
“On the morning of the storm we were awakened with a very loud thunderstorm. Lightning raced across the sky and thunder rattled the window panes,” Tobia said.
Full force
During this storm it started to sleet pellets the size of small peas. Within 5 minutes, the ground was covered with white ice. The winds started to howl, and they never stopped for 24 hours, Tobia said. “Throughout the day, severe thunderstorm warnings crawled across our TV. The temperature still hung above freezing but took turns between rain and sleet until about 5 p.m. Then Xanto hit full force.”
According to Tobia, the temperatures dropped, and snow came. The winds were 30 to 40 mph and the snow was blowing sideways. Visibility dropped to whiteout conditions immediately. The electricity flickered and would go out completely and come back on right away.
At first, Tobia and many other locals worried about long-distance trips to an emergency room or safer shelter. Tobia said that the nearest hospital was located 15 miles away.
“Sleep was impossible for me during the night. It was a real ‘Friday the 13th’ nightmares for me,” Tobia said.
When she woke up, the wind had blown snow against the windows.
“Our doors snowed shut except for one.”
The wind started to die down and snow stopped around 2 p.m. Saturday. It was a white paradise with snow drifts 3 feet high in places.
“This is a small community of about 245 people and everyone watches out for each other. Lots of phone calls were made finding our how everyone got through the night. Our neighbors came with a small Bobcat with a snow loader on front and in five minutes our driveway was clear, and we were back into a part of civilization again,” Tobia said.
Tobia said the storm brought concerns for farmers.
“The big story is the farmers and ranchers. This is an agriculture community. At this time of year they should be preparing the fields for planting,” Tobia said. “This will set them back and planting will be late this year. Frost comes early in the fall, so there are just so many weeks to get the crops in and harvested before the possibility of an early frost.
“Even worse is the fact it is calving season in South Dakota. This is the worst-case scenario for the young calves. Rain first which soaks and chills them to the bone and then slowly that freezes on their bodies. Young calves will freeze to death before long. Usually 10 percent of baby calves will be lost, but with a storm that number rose to 30 percent. Each death will be a $1,000 loss to the rancher. When you are trying to keep 300 head of cows with calves by their side safe it doesn’t come easy. As all farmers’ wives will tell you, the safety of their herd is a number one priority,” Tobia added.
The storm weakened significantly as it approached the Atlantic region.
Locally, we saw the residual effects of the storm with rain here on Monday and Tuesday, with some flurries swirling through Tuesday afternoon.
“People around here said they never saw anything like this historical spring snowstorm of 2018,” Tobia said.
