Although winter doesn't technically start until Dec. 21, the snowfall Saturday and heavy winds today have people feeling as if the season started early.
"Once it snows, it's winter in South Dakota," said Dennis Dosch, site manager of Runnings Farm and Fleet.
A blizzard warning went into effect at 3 a.m. today in Brown County and the surrounding area, said Renee Wise, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Aberdeen. It will continue until 6 p.m. or later, she said.
A blizzard warning means there will be heavy winds and less than a quarter mile of visibility, she said.
Although it will snow less than it did Saturday, 25- to 30-mph winds with possible gusts of up to 45 mph, combined with expected light snowfall, will reduce visibility to nearly zero at times, Wise said.
On Friday night, the weather service estimated 3 to 5 inches of total snow accumulation Saturday, but the snowfall was heavier than expected, Wise said.
The total snow accumulation in Brown County and the surrounding area on Saturday was expected to be about 9 inches, Wise said. By 7 p.m. Saturday, there was 6 inches of snow accumulation, she said.
Numerous accidents occurred across Aberdeen on Saturday because of slick roads.
The Aberdeen Police Department has responded to 35 accidents since the snow started falling Friday, Sgt. Anthony Bisbee said.
Emergency snow routes, which are marked throughout Aberdeen, will be plowed today starting at 6 a.m., said Robin Bobzien, city engineer and public works director.
The public works department will evaluate whether more roads need to be plowed as the day goes on, he said.
A statewide warning urging people to stay off the roads was issued by the South Dakota Department of Transportation on Saturday night, because the wind, snow and ice have created dangerous driving conditions.
Hours before the snowstorm began, people in Aberdeen were already preparing for the winter weather.
Sales of snowblowers, snow shovels, salt, ice melter and snow throwers increased dramatically since Friday's first snowfall, Dosch said.
"Snow seems to sell snow shovels," Dosch said with a laugh.
About 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Corey Moser and his brother, Mike, both of Aberdeen, were looking at snow plows at Menards.
Corey Moser said they were checking out the plows because they heard about the heavy snowstorm. In the past, they just shoveled the snow, but the brothers were considering buying a snow plow this year, he said
"We've always just shoveled until now," he said. "But maybe we're getting a little older, a little lazier, or maybe a little smarter," he said with a laugh.
In the warehouse of the Goodwill Stores in Aberdeen, Jess Slaight, team leader, was working with several other people trying to get their winter clothing processed and onto the sales floor as quickly as possible.
She said people have been buying heavy coats, boots, kids' snow pants, gloves and other winter clothes at a rapid pace since Friday.
"All those items tend to go pretty quick," said Narissa Weifenbach, a clerk at Goodwill.
In preparation for the bad roads, people have started replacing their regular tires with winter tires, which provide much better traction, said Steve Shanley, a salesman at Graham Tire.
"A lot of people have stopped in after the first snow of the season. Once they start sliding around on their regular tires, they realized it's time to switch," he said.
Winter tires tend to wear out much quicker than regular tires, so most people take them off once the snow melts, he said.
The tires are extremely helpful when the roads are icy, he said.
The conditions are bad this weekend, but people know how to prepare for heavy snowfall, said Dick Haas, who was shopping for ice melt at Menards.
Haas, who said he has lived in Aberdeen for 43 years, wasn't too worried about this upcoming winter.
"We're South Dakotans, so were used to it," he said.
