Do you need a snowblower in Box Elder, SD?
The machine for a Box Elder driveway
Gas single-stage
Box Elder gets enough snow that shovelling it all is a real job, about 6.3 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.
How much snow Box Elder gets
- Snow a year
- 49 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 2.1 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- about once every 3 winters
- Days with snow on the ground
- 48
Moderate, a typical snowy-city winter. That is about 1.3 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 6.3 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Box Elder
- Sep0.1
- Oct3.0
- Nov5.7
- Dec6.7
- Jan5.3
- Feb7.7
- Mar8.4
- Apr10.1
- May1.5
Snow worth clearing runs from October to May, heaviest in April. Start and service a machine in September.
Towns near Box Elder
Box Elder is number 5 of 14 South Dakota towns here for snowfall; Spearfish gets the most at 71 inches.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rapid City, SD | 7 | 54 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Spearfish, SD | 45 | 71 in | Two-stage snowblower |
| Gillette, WY | 120 | 56 in | Gas single-stage |
| Pierre, SD | 138 | 37 in | Cordless single-stage |
| Scottsbluff, NE | 158 | 40 in | Gas single-stage |
| Casper, WY | 185 | 82 in | Two-stage snowblower |
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 Rapid City Regional Airport, 4.9 miles from Box Elder. 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.