Recent Weather

[waterdog09]

Hey guys, heading out towards the Mitchell area on Tues morning. Just curious what this recent rain/snow did out there? How much rain did you guys really get and what snow is left? Also how are the roads looking, are most still drifted over or are they a muddy mess? Just trying to get a feel for what gear I need to bring. Thanks

 

[sdrat]

We had about a half inch of rain Sunday.
When it thaws again (probably Tuesday or Wednesday) it's going to get muddy.
The little bit of snow that was left is rock-solid now. No blowing or drifting as we didn't get any new snow.

Hope that helps and good luck.

SDRAT

 

[Dakotazeb]

This last storm that went through the Dakotas certainly didn't help the pheasants. So much freezing rain and ice that really raises heck with the birds. In the areas that had snow there was a lot of wind that I'm sure filled in much of the habitat. Hopefully some warmer weather will come soon to melt some of the ice. If the fields are covered with an inch or more of ice the birds can't peck through it for feed and gravel. Be interesting to hear some reports from the guys that are getting out during this final week of the season. Kind of glad I'm down here in sunny and warm Arizona for the winter.

 

[BRITTMAN]

Much of ND is covered in 2 feet of snow. When you add in the winds that 2 feet is not evenly dispersed ... many if not most cattail sloughs in that swath are completely filled. Birds will now need to rely on shelter belts. Many of which lack much thermal cover or much wind protection. In fact avian predators will have a hey day.

The ice and ice over snow in SD will allow pheasants to run, run and run some more ... but you are right about fields covered in a layer of ice. Birds near food plots should be fine. Those near iced over dirt fields will struggle to keep reserves needed to get through the next several months. Northern half of SD likely will not melt anytime soon ... southern half will get some thawing, but not much. SD looks like the problems are much more spotty vs. widespread.

December has not been kind to pheasant hunters and much less kind to the pheasants themselves.

 

[A5 Sweet 16]

In the Sioux Falls area & roughly an hour north &/or west, the rain on Sunday melted much of the snow, so much of the picked corn/bean fields are open. I didn't really notice areas of "iced over" fields. With frozen ground & warm-ish temps, it seems like most of the rain ran to low spots before freezing. Still tons of great winter cover around and lots of really spooky, really fast pheasants. Public land birds are challenging, to say the least. Yesterday I saw plenty of birds, but for the most part couldn't get close to them. The couple decent opportunities I had were ruined by 30 mph plus winds creating shots that no mere mortal could make. That's my story & I'm sticking to it.

 

[Dakotazeb]

In the Sioux Falls area & roughly an hour north &/or west, the rain on Sunday melted much of the snow, so much of the picked corn/bean fields are open. I didn't really notice areas of "iced over" fields. With frozen ground & warm-ish temps, it seems like most of the rain ran to low spots before freezing. Still tons of great winter cover around and lots of really spooky, really fast pheasants. Public land birds are challenging, to say the least. Yesterday I saw plenty of birds, but for the most part couldn't get close to them. The couple decent opportunities I had were ruined by 30 mph plus winds creating shots that no mere mortal could make. That's my story & I'm sticking to it.

Lot more ice as you get north. Reports from Watertown have said they have quite a bit. And I heard that around Summit they had 1 1/2 inches of ice on the ground. Lots of trees and power lines down in the Milbank area. Temps this coming week in Watertown won't get above freezing and I see the highs next Wed. and Thurs. are forecast to be -1. No melting around there.

 

[watermen]

Talked to relatives in SE ND tonight and they only lost power for 8hrs. Which suprized them as it's the worst ice he's ever seen. There's an inch everywhere and it's hard to get around on the gravel. Said he fed pheasants yesterday and expects them to be able to make it a week or two, but that's it in this mess. Worse worry was all of the old people falling and having trouble getting around on the ice.