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Devastating October 2013 blizzard pictures

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Claudia from the Rapid City Journal would like to post these photos on their website.

Did you take these photos, or if not -- do you know who did?

They need permission from the photographer to post them.

I believe that the world needs to see this terrible devestation.

Thanks,
Sherry Baker.
 
PalmCoast said:
Claudia from the Rapid City Journal would like to post these photos on their website.

Did you take these photos, or if not -- do you know who did?

They need permission from the photographer to post them.

I believe that the world needs to see this terrible devestation.

Thanks,
Sherry Baker.
Click to expand...

These pictures were on Facebook, but I have no idea who actually took the photos. Sorry. :?
 
It's hard to believe that could happen this time of the year. When this is all figured out, I think we will find several reasons why it was so severe. Cattle hadn' developed their winter hair coat, then 2 days of rain before. Wet hair doesn't insulate very well. Cattle in summer pasture do not familiarize themselves well with areas where there is protection from the wind so more of them were caught out in the open to drift with the wind. Then there is feed. Dryer feed remains in their digestive system longer then more green or lush feed. The digestion process helps to generate heat. October is usually a dry month in western South Dakota. Winter storms do not usually arrive there until about election day.
 
I am curious as to if very many moved their cattle from summer pasture to more protected areas prior to the storm and if that helped any?
 
I don't think stockmen had enough advance warning to move their cattle. One of our neighbors in SD is a grass manager for the Forest Service. He said there still are cattle on the forest service leases. No one has been able to get up there the last I hea,rd but they expect heavy death loss there and those cattle had trees for protection.

The pictures soapweed posted the link to showed cattle that went into draws for protection and were snowed under. There just wasn't much anyone could do. Wet cattle can't stand much, ever.
 
The other thing is that the plains were only forecasted to get up to 9 inches but I talked to a friend of mine west of Faith and he said they had well over two feet on the flat, His 97 year old grandfather remembers storms like this in his childhood just never this early......
 
The thing I noticed about this storm is how hard it was to breath in it.It almost seemed as if all the oxygen was stripped from the air.We had 3 inches of rain first and then 2 feet of snow here 40 miles southwest of Faith.October is a dangerous month here in S.D.
 
I am curious as to if very many moved their cattle from summer pasture to more protected areas prior to the storm and if that helped any?
Click to expand...

I moved mine but it didn't matter. I got through in good shape but the 40 degree and dropping rain accompanied by 40-60mph winds pushed everything out of protection. There were cattle that died in corralls and windbreaks. Some out in the open made it.
 
I live in the Faith,SD area and I had my cows in my winter pasture and with the cold Northeast wind and rain as it started blew them out of cover and I lost six cows and 2 calves and feel very fortunate for some of my neighbors
lost way way more!
Please keep those poor soles in your prayers! They will need any support they can get....
 
Many had their cows in protected pastures. But with no winter hair, freezing rain and the amount of snow and wind they froze to death or suffocated from the amount of snow. Some are finding their cows in tree breaks standing up dead.
 

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