Libby Hill

As tempting as it may be to assume that the subzero temperatures experienced lately were an aberration, that would be inaccurate.

According to state climatologist Dennis Todey, such weather is perfectly natural for a South Dakota winter.

“Seven days with some sort of precipitation is a little unusual, but for the past 20-25 years we’ve had warmer than average winters,” said Todey.

We also haven’t gotten any more snow than in past years, either.

“The 7-8 inches of snow we’ve gotten in the past week has brought us within about an inch of the average snowfall for this time of year.

“We’ve had 19 inches total so far this winter,” Todey also commented.

However there is good news in store for those people who have a hard time existing in such a harsh environment.

“While we’ll remain below normal temperature-wise for the next three to four days, we should be back to normal and above very soon,” says the meteorologist for the KSFY television station out of Sioux Falls, Phil Schreck.