Snowmelt causes dangerous driving conditions with fog and slippery roads, NWS warns

The Sioux Falls Police Department received 39 accidents reports between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. Thursday, in addition to the 30 accidents Wednesday because of the weather, department spokesperson Sam Clemens said at the daily police briefing with media.

“The slick roads, and what it comes down to is, people just aren’t slowing down,” Clemens said.

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Clemens said numerous calls could be related to people being ready for snow to be gone and wanting to drive normally again, but unfortunately, that kind of weather isn’t here yet.

If people are driving too fast and not maintaining enough distance from the cars in front of them, then there is a possibility of the car sliding and leading to an accident when you need to stop, Clemens said.

“Slow down, leave extra early, give yourself extra time (and) extra distance, and then you won’t have to worry,” Clemens said.

The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls reiterated how road conditions have been affected by the weather in its Hazardous Weather Outlook information online.

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“Freezing drizzle is causing slippery conditions, especially on untreated roads, parking lots and sidewalks,” and these slippery conditions have been augmented with intense fog across Sioux Falls, the site states.

As far as precipitation is concerned, the drizzle and fog will be continuing until Friday night and early Saturday morning, said meteorologist Brittany Peterson.

“Areas of dense fog with visibility under a half mile will continue through midday. Fog may linger this afternoon and has a high chance of becoming dense again tonight through Friday morning," the weather outlook states. "Areas of fog and freezing drizzle are possible again Friday night into early Saturday."

Saturday is when the atmosphere begins turning sunny, while the cloudy atmosphere continues as nightfall comes on, according to NWS forecasts. That's the because of the recent snow storms the city has had the past couple of weeks.

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“We have a significant snowpack that’s developed over the past few weeks and with temperatures rising to near or above freezing, we’re starting to see some snow melts,” said Peterson. “If we don’t have a dryer airmass as the snow melts very slowly, nights are more likely to develop clouds and fog as the temperature drops, but the moisture level stays the same.”

Peterson said central and eastern parts of South Dakota, eastern Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma, as well as further east Iowa, Missouri and Minnesota have also been experiencing fog for a couple of days. The snow melt in the same airmass has caused the areas to experience similar conditions, she said.

Peterson said days with higher temperature will lead to more or faster snow melts and that would be better for agriculture. More water will be absorbed into soil and will runoff into rivers and out of the area, she said.

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“Saturday and Sunday we start getting westerly or southwesterly flow again at the surface, and that allows for drier air to move in and help prevent the fog from developing,” Peterson said.

While the forecast shows warmer temperatures ahead, Peterson said that doesn’t mean chances for more snow are gone. The region sees snow through February and March and may be even into April and May, she said.

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The NWS forecast for the next seven days is:

Thursday: Cloudy during the day with a high near 34°F. Patchy fog after 1 p.m. with calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph. Cloudy atmosphere continues through the night with a low around 29°F. Areas of freezing fog between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. North wind around 5 mph.

Friday: Mostly cloudy during the day with a high near 33°F with areas of fog. Calm wind becoming west northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Mostly cloudy during the night as well with a low around 25°F. Patchy fog before 8 p.m. and west wind around 5 mph.

Saturday: Partly sunny in the day with a high near 34°F. Partly cloudy in the night with a low around 17°F. Northwest wind between 5 and 10 mph throughout the day.

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Sunday: Mostly sunny with a high near 33°F during the day. Partly cloudy in the night with a low around 23°F.

Monday: Mostly sunny with a high near 37°F in the day. Partly cloudy in the night with a low around 28°F.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny with a high near 38°F in the day. Partly cloudy in the night with a low around 28°F.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny with a high near 41°F.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Sioux Falls Police say weather may be tied to dozens of crashes Thursday