Winter finally arrives

After a beginning to the winter that felt well nigh tropical, the last week has proven that Mother Nature still has all her teeth. The end of the balmy season arrived on a torrent of wind in a weather event that lasted almost two days.

The high wind event occurred when a potent cold front swept through the region on the afternoon of January 13, bringing northwesterly winds behind it. The wind sustained overnight in much of the area at 35 to 50 mph, with gusts that reached up to 80 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

The high winds continued until Friday morning, causing damage to homes and businesses across the region and sparking several wind-driven grass fires, as well as causing rollovers along I-90 in South Dakota.

In Crook County, the highest recorded wind speed was 70 mph northwest of Rocky Point. Beulah saw wind speeds of 63 mph, while 60 mph gusts were recorded ten miles east of Pine Haven and the towns of Sundance and Pine Haven both saw 50 mph winds.

The winds had no sooner died down than a winter storm warning was called. On Sunday evening, Wyoming welcomed a clipper system that brought snow to the area throughout the night and into Monday.

The storm warning lasted until Monday evening, with several inches of snow falling across the Black Hills. Light snow, however, continued to fall into Tuesday.