Farmer's Almanac Says Prepare For a Wet Whirlwind Winter

Can we trust a long-range weather forecast? The Farmer's Almanac boasts a good prediction success rate and their long-range weather forecast for winter 2024 - 2025 may just inspire you to keep firewood and a good book on hand.

The Farmer's Almanac prediction center says that the coldest temperatures in the nation will be in the Northern Plains. Not really surprising because it's always colder here than much of the country.

"Frigid Arctic air brings a sharp plunge in temperatures almost nationwide, but especially across the Northern Plains." ~ Farmer's Almanac '24 long-range weather forecast for winter

Using their long-range models and looking at a very strong La Niña pattern, the forecast tells us the brace for a "wet winter whirlwind."

Gee, that doesn't sound pleasant. Unless, of course, you like snow.

The Farmer's Almanac forecast also says Nebraska may be "warmish" and they're our neighbors so maybe South Dakota will get a chunk of that nice weather too.

Too early to tell? Maybe. But we'll now soon enough as summer is winding down and the kids are back to school.

Haunted Locations and Scary Legends Around Sioux Falls

Halloween is steeped in scary traditions. Trick-or-Treating, frightening costumes, local actors in "haunted" houses, and the pitch-black darkness of area corn mazes.

However, if we set out to find the real haunted areas what would we find? Over the last 30 years that I have lived in Sioux Falls, a few locations still gain attention as being haunted.

And yes, a handful of thrill-seeking people will show up on our favorite eerie night for what could be a viral video moment or experience a misty phantom first-hand.

Let's take a little tour of the more famous hauntings around Sioux Falls. Turn on the lights and cue the Cowardly Lion: "I do believe in spooks, I do believe in spooks..."

Gallery Credit: Danny V

35 Movies That Take Place in South Dakota

When it comes to South Dakota and Hollywood, we've seen our fair share of films that have used our state as the backdrop for a number of productions over the years. They may not have always filmed here, but movie folk love to set stories here.

We're all familiar with the blockbusters like 1990's Dances With Wolves, 1959's North By Northwest, and more recently, 2007's National Treasure: Book of Secrets. But our state's life on the big screen goes back nearly 100 years.

According to IMDb, it all started with Courtin' Wildcats, a 1929 film which, like so many of the 29 films on this list, is a Western set in the time before South Dakota became a state in 1889.

Gallery Credit: Jeff Harkness/B1027.com