Here in the Black Hills, we’re used to getting our fair share of snow and winter weather. In fact, a lot of local businesses depend on it to make a living. So far this winter, the weather has been fairly mild and the folks who run the ski slopes and snowmobile outfitters have been wishing for a good, solid snow.

Over the weekend – that wish was granted, and then some!

One of the most powerful blizzards in recent years blew into the area on Wednesday evening and stuck around through Saturday afternoon. The storm closed roads and affected holiday travel across all of South Dakota, but walloped the Black Hills especially hard.

Parts of the Black Hills received more than three feet of snow! With wind gusts upwards of 60 miles per hour, snow drifts more than ten feet high were common. Here are some of the snow totals from the storm, as reported by the National Weather Service:

• Lead – 40 inches
• Deadwood – 37 inches
• Spearfish – 26 inches
• Sundance, WY – 24 inches
• Porcupine – 20 inches
• Sturgis – 11 inches

Parts of the central and southern Black Hills got by with only a few inches of snow; Rapid City and Hill City both reported six inches.

The snow and wind trailed off late Saturday and by Sunday morning, most roads were re-opened and life as usual resumed in the Black Hills.

So, after three days of being stuck inside the house, today many area businesses are celebrating the recent snow and at the very least – the rest of us are appreciating its beauty.