SnowfallCheck

Do you need a snowblower in Aberdeen, SD?

What clears snow in Aberdeen

Gas single-stage

Aberdeen gets enough snow that shovelling it all is a real job, about 5.6 tons a winter on this driveway, but storms over 8 inches are uncommon.

Before you buy, check the intake height against the deepest storm above, and plan to clear before the city plow leaves its ridge of heavy slush at the end of the drive.

A normal Aberdeen winter

Snow a year
43 in
Storms of 5 in or more
1.5 a winter
Storms of 10 in or more
about once every 5 winters
Days with snow on the ground
80

Moderate, a typical snowy-city winter. That is about 1.2 times what a typical snowy US city gets. It tends to stay, so each storm lands on the last one.

On a two car driveway that is about 5.6 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.

When the snow comes in Aberdeen

  1. Oct1.3
  2. Nov6.5
  3. Dec8.0
  4. Jan7.8
  5. Feb8.6
  6. Mar6.3
  7. Apr4.2

Snow worth clearing runs from October to April, heaviest in February. Start and service a machine in September.

Aberdeen and its neighbours

Aberdeen is number 8 of 14 South Dakota towns here for snowfall; Spearfish gets the most at 71 inches.

TownMilesSnowTwo car, paved
Watertown, SD7541 inGas single-stage
Huron, SD7744 inGas single-stage
Jamestown, ND10046 inGas single-stage
Brookings, SD11536 inCordless single-stage
Pierre, SD11837 inCordless single-stage
West Fargo, ND12251 inGas single-stage

Where these numbers come from

Read next: Snowblowers on a gravel driveway and Single-stage or two-stage.

NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals from Aberdeen, 2.7 miles from Aberdeen. A normal winter, not this winter's forecast. Snow is weighed at 6.24 pounds a cubic foot, fresh and fairly dry; wet spring snow can weigh three times that.