People who have somewhere to be this weekend need to be there this afternoon to avoid a snowstorm, said Ryan Vipond, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Aberdeen.
"Sunday, forget about it," he said. "If you don't have to travel, don't travel."
Snowfall that could measure up to a foot or more and strong winds are expected to begin this evening and continue throughout Sunday and into Monday morning, Vipond said.
The heaviest snowfall is projected to be in eastern South Dakota, he said. Brown County is projected to receive 8 to 10 inches, and areas in Day and Marshall counties could see a foot or more of snow, he said.
Less snow is expected to the west: Campbell, Potter and Walworth counties are expected to receive about 2 to 4 inches, Vipond said.
Winds of about 15 mph are expected tonight, Vipond said. Winds should be stronger on Sunday, with winds at 25-30 mph and gusts up to 40 mph, Vipond said.
A blizzard watch was in effect for Day, Marshall, Brown, Spink, Campbell, Walworth, Potter, McPherson, Edmunds and Faulk Counties as of 9 p.m. Friday.
Conditions are expected to be relatively nice this morning into the afternoon, he said. The high will be about 30 degrees, with mostly cloudy skies and a chance of light snowfall, he said.
Lt. Doug Coughlin of the South Dakota Highway Patrol urged people to pay attention to weather warnings and stay off the roads if there are blizzard conditions.
The Highway Patrol has sport utility vehicles and four-wheel-drive vehicles, but troopers don't want to drive in dangerous weather conditions if they can avoid it, he said.
"If the conditions are so bad the public can't get around safely, neither can we," Coughlin said. "So we'd urge everyone to stay off the roads, so we don't have to put our guys at risk."
Troopers will always respond to an accident, no matter how bad the weather is, but if people stay off the roads, everyone becomes safer, he said.
People without a four-wheel-drive vehicle with high clearance should stay off local roads in hazardous weather, even for short trips, said Capt. Dave McNeil of the Aberdeen Police Department.
Many times, people believe they can make a quick trip to the grocery store or a gas station without issues, but many vehicles end up blocking a road after getting stuck in snowdrifts, McNeil said.
The police have to figure out how to quickly move those vehicles off the road, which often is no easy task, he said.
"Even in a blizzard, we need those roads open in case there's an emergency situation and we need to get there quickly," McNeil said.
The South Dakota Department of Public Safety issued a travel advisory Friday afternoon warning people of possible blizzard conditions throughout South Dakota.
This weather will create hazardous driving conditions with near zero visibility, according to the advisory. Roads are likely to become covered in snow, which can cause drifting, especially in sheltered areas and at the end of bridges, the advisory stated.
