public-safety
Freeze Watch issued Oct. 15, 2026 by NWS Sioux Falls SD
Freeze Watch issued October 15 at 7:26PM CDT until October 17 at 8:00AM CDT by NWS Sioux Falls SD. Areas named: Lyon; Osceola; Dickinson; Sioux; O'Brien; Clay; Plymouth; Cherokee; Buena Vista; Woodbury; Ida; Lincoln; Lyon; Murray; Cottonwood; Nobles; Jackson; Pipestone; Rock; Dixon; Dakota; Union.
Published automatically from public-record data — not yet reviewed by an editor.
Key facts
- What
- Public safety
- When
- Record date Oct. 15, 2026; Added Oct. 16, 2026
- Source
- Weather alerts
- Read time
- About 3 minutes
NWS Sioux Falls SD issued a Freeze Watch at 6:26 p.m. MDT (7:26 p.m. CDT) Oct. 15, 2026, according to the National Weather Service's public alert record.
The alert states that it takes effect at 6:26 p.m. MDT (7:26 p.m. CDT), gives the onset as midnight MDT (1 a.m. CDT) as Oct. 17 begins and expires at 3:30 a.m. MDT (4:30 a.m. CDT) Oct. 16. It may reach both of South Dakota's time zones, so each time is given in both.
The alert separately states that the hazard itself ends at 7 a.m. MDT (8 a.m. CDT) Oct. 17, which can differ from when the message expires.
Whether this alert is currently in effect is not stated in this text, deliberately: it depends on the time you are reading, so it is computed from the expiry above each time the page is loaded, rather than stored as an answer that would go out of date without anyone noticing. The status shown at the top of this page is the computed one.
The issuing office classified this message as severity "Severe", certainty "Possible" and urgency "Future". Those are the National Weather Service's own categories, reproduced exactly, not re-ranked or translated into another scale.
The recommended response type on the message is "Prepare".
The alert names these areas: Lyon; Osceola; Dickinson; Sioux; O'Brien; Clay; Plymouth; Cherokee; Buena Vista; Woodbury; Ida; Lincoln; Lyon; Murray; Cottonwood; Nobles; Jackson; Pipestone; Rock; Dixon; Dakota; Union. The National Weather Service zone codes are IAZ001, IAZ002, IAZ003, IAZ012, IAZ013, IAZ014, IAZ020, IAZ021, IAZ022, IAZ031, IAZ032, MNZ071, MNZ072, MNZ080, MNZ081, MNZ089, MNZ090, MNZ097, MNZ098, NEZ013, NEZ014 and SDZ071.
The issuing office's own summary line, as written at 6:26 p.m. MDT (7:26 p.m. CDT) Oct. 15:
FREEZE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM LATE FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING
The full text of the alert as issued at 6:26 p.m. MDT (7:26 p.m. CDT), reproduced without changes:
* WHAT...Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 30 possible.
* WHERE...Portions of northwest and west central Iowa, southwest Minnesota, northeast Nebraska, and southeast South Dakota.
* WHEN...From late Friday night through Saturday morning.
* IMPACTS...Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.
The protective-action text the issuing office attached, reproduced without changes:
Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold.
The National Weather Service superseded this message at 9:56 a.m. MDT (10:56 a.m. CDT) Oct. 16 with a later one. This article records the message as issued.
This alert is a work of the United States federal government — the National Weather Service, part of NOAA — and is in the public domain; no copyright is claimed on it and none is asserted here. The alert is reproduced without added meteorological judgement. For live conditions and alerts, go to the National Weather Service.
Only alerts the National Weather Service gave a window of two hours or longer appear here, checked once a day. Short-notice warnings — including tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings, which the service typically issues for under an hour — are NOT carried here, so their absence here says nothing about whether one was issued. For those, and for live conditions, go to the National Weather Service.