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Usually Sioux Falls will have the nastier winter weather because of higher humidity and stronger winds. Winter temps also run a little lower in Sioux Falls. The rare exception can be when Rapid gets an early blizzard out of the northeast. The Black Hills cannot protect Rapid in such a case and the weather can become life threatening if one is caught out in the open.
I have heard Rapid City and the Black Hills referred to as the 'Banana Belt' during the winter. Live just on the skirts of Sioux Falls and it is always warmer in the hills during the winter than it is here. They may get heavier snow at times, but it seems to disappear quicker. Kind of like Denver in that regard?
You do know that from October to December, winter hasn't gotten nasty yet. You'll see snow in either one, but not bitter cold and blustery weather. Not like you do from January to March.
You do know that from October to December, winter hasn't gotten nasty yet. You'll see snow in either one, but not bitter cold and blustery weather. Not like you do from January to March.
Hence the joke, "We have four seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter and Road Construction."
Rapid City does get very cold but it's not unrelenting. Usually we'll have a cold snap, then it'll warm up enough to let the snow melt before we get another cold snap. It's not like the snow falls in October and then remains as permafrost until May. Those warm winds are called Chinooks. And unless a storm is coming from the north or east (usually they come from the west) the Black Hills provide some protection from the worst of it. That's where the banana belt reputation comes from. Although IMHO our climate is a little too cold to be referencing tropical fruit at all.
Hence the joke, "We have four seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter and Road Construction."
Rapid City does get very cold but it's not unrelenting. Usually we'll have a cold snap, then it'll warm up enough to let the snow melt before we get another cold snap. It's not like the snow falls in October and then remains as permafrost until May. Those warm winds are called Chinooks. And unless a storm is coming from the north or east (usually they come from the west) the Black Hills provide some protection from the worst of it. That's where the banana belt reputation comes from. Although IMHO our climate is a little too cold to be referencing tropical fruit at all.
Growing up in Rapid City, and then years later I was telling my dad that the snow drifts used to be a lot taller then they are now. Dad looked at me and said, "You were less than 4 ft tall and they just looked bigger back then."
That being said, back then there was NO road maintenance inside the city. They bladed around the fire departments and the ambulance services, and maybe a couple major roads in town. For instance, I lived in Robinsdale and 5th, elm, St Pat, got bladed a couple times a winter. But Omaha, E/North, etc... got bladed every time it snowed. Which I found incredibly stupid because those streets had enough traffic to keep the snow melted off without blading.
Of course, back then there was no School Bus routes inside city limits. Only rural kids had school bus availability. That is why I got my drivers license when I turned 14.
due to chinook winds in rapid city, Sioux Falls has far colder winters. The cold is more consistent. Don't believe me? See for yourself. I used a more typical winter, the winter of 2010, as an example. The last 2 winters have been paradise particularly this last winter.
Go 50 miles north to Brookings and you have the coldest town in the state, along with Watertown, due to their location on the coteau des prairies. Air cools as it rises, and the elevation goes down in all directions in these two towns except due north which doesn't do any good since northerly winds just bring in... more cold air. Irritates me constantly since I like it warm, to see it often 10 degrees warmer in Sioux Falls, or 15 degrees warmer in Yankton in March and April and by that time, I'm more than tired of winter!
The further west you go, the warmer it gets. Huron is warmer than Brookings. Mitchell is warmer than Sioux Falls. These are also low elevation flat areas west of the 'coteau des prairies' where glaciers moved through during the last ice age... once you go west of the Missouri river the elevation gradually rises.. so when you get westerly winds it warms up the whole western side of the state quite nicely, since winds warm as they go down in elevation... all the way up to around De Smet, where the elevation starts to rise, which is the western edge of the 'coteau des prairies' It even gets 5-10 degrees warmer in Marshall, MN which is just east of these hilly areas in a low elevation, and often gets a slight warming effect when the winds are out of the west, south, and even northwest. (Yeah I have too much time on my hands to notice these things)
For people who like Winter and ice fishing, this hilly area known as the 'coteau des prairies' makes for some of the state's largest and most numerous lakes, and the ice usually freezes hard every winter allowing for ice fishing. It will also hold snowcover for longer without melting, which is prettier than just seeing brown dead grass.
Overall though my first choice in the state is Rapid.
Last edited by sholomar; 10-14-2012 at 08:07 AM..
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(Yeah I have too much time on my hands to notice these things) 
