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<br />(3) Winter of 1997 - 1998. <br /> <br />J <br /> <br />The unseasonably mild conditions prevailed until January 22nd across most of <br />the District, while the mountain snow pack grew at a below average rate. A winter <br />storm dumped 6 to 12 inches of snow across much of eastern South Dakota by the <br />23'd. The colder temperatures by the 22nd also caused ice jams to form on the <br />Platte River near Fremont, Nebraska. Ice jams in that area grew in scope and <br />coverage through early February. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Mild weather returned by mid-February, with temperatures well above <br />normal. Rainfall on partially frozen ground in the East Nishnabotna River basin <br />caused the Nishnabotna River at Hamburg to rise to near flood stage by February <br />17th. Winter returned to the northern plains between February 24th and March 1 st, <br />as a storm emerged from the Rockies and tracked slowly northeastward through <br />northern Nebraska towards Minnesota. Rare February thunderstorms pushed <br />northward into eastern South Dakota ahead of the storm. Over a foot of snow fell <br />across parts of Wyoming, eastern Montana, western Nebraska and the western <br />Dakotas. Seven to eight feet of snow fell in the northern Black Hills, with Galena, <br />South Dakota, recording the most, with 94 inches of new snow by March 15t after <br />several days of blizzard conditions. Rain on frozen ground and snowmelt in the <br />James and Big Sioux River basins ahead of the storm center caused the rivers to <br />rise towards flood stage. <br /> <br />A second late winter storm developed in the southern Rockies and tracked <br />northeast toward Nebraska on March 7th and 8th, producing heavy snow in <br />Nebraska, Iowa and parts of South Dakota. Depths of 1 2 to 18 inches were <br />reported across southeast Nebraska and western Iowa by March 9th. An additional <br />6 to 12 inches of snow fell in the Black Hills and Badlands of South Dakota, adding <br />to the snow pack from the earlier storm. Temperatures in Wyoming and the <br />western Dakotas plummeted to -200 to -400 F behind the storm, Hettinger, <br />North Dakota, reported -380 F on March 11 th and Midland, South Dakota, reported <br />-340 F on the 12'h. Subzero temperatures in eastern Nebraska caused a <br />redevelopment of ice jams and lowland flooding along the Platte River between <br />Fremont and Ashland, Nebraska, by March 15th. <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />Another winter storm pushed into the District by March 1 6th, as an upper <br />level storm system moved eastward from the Rockies. Rain, freezing rain, and <br />snow were reported over most of the District on March 17th and 18th. The heaviest <br />amounts were reported in the Rocky Mountains from Colorado northward into <br />Montana. <br /> <br />.. <br /> <br />11 <br />